Happy holidays, friends!

I’m going to be honest right from the beginning here. I actually debated whether or not to include the word “happy” in the title of this blog post and even now, I’m still a bit uneasy about it. It’s the end of 2020 and we’re saying goodbye to arguably the worst year of our lives — more than 300K people have died from COVID in less than a year, we’re seeing DAILY record-high numbers of new cases and deaths, people are unemployed and struggling and…well, I could go on and on and on!

So, naturally, it can be hard to see a lot of good right now. I personally have days where I’m extremely pessimistic and can’t see anything good or even redeeming about this year. Maybe you feel the same?

That’s OK if you do. In fact, I’d be surprised if you didn’t feel all this gloom and doom. It can get to be pretty overwhelming sometimes, right? Happy holidays it most definitely is not.

I went into 2020 with such a strong sense of optimism. I was going to continue to grow my career and social media platform and maybe even start seriously thinking about that book I’ve always daydreamed about — ahhh, yes, the possibilities were endless, boundless and ripe for the taking.

It was going to be MY YEAR. But — spoiler alert! — it wasn’t my year and I suspect it wasn’t your year either. Maybe that’s why posting about the “happy” holidays just doesn’t really feel right this year — almost insensitive even! Because the truth is, our lives are never going to be the same; we can pretend that everything is “normal” and just fine, but nothing has been even remotely fine for almost an entire year.

As I began reflecting on my writing career and just life in general in 2020, I started getting down on myself for not publishing as many pieces as last year and generally not being nearly as productive — or motivated. Then again, we weren’t in a pandemic last year! So here’s a Year-In-Review for the year I’m so happy to see ending soon…

I blogged about love and relationships, like how disabled women are hot, an open letter to my sister for her 35th birthday, missing my father, conversations with my mom and what life in quarantine is like.

Disability posts, such as why I spent a year posting selfies, why the 2020 election mattered so much, the 30th anniversary of the ADA, why I WANT you to see my wheelchair in photos and, of course, TROLLS.

Tons of pop culture tidbits, like my love of Frozen 2’s Kristoff, Little Women, The Baby-Sitters Club reboot, an ode to Peppermint Patty (the best Peanuts character), Chuck E. Cheese and 20 years after “Oops!… I Did It Again”!! Oh, and I also became obsessed with the Dolly Parton Challenge!

And you all know I got deeply political too, with posts like what Trump’s Donna Reed comments reveal about misogyny, Trump’s mantrum at the Lincoln Memorial, thank you, Elizabeth Warren, the trap of Female Electability and Nancy Pelosi and that Revolutionary Rip. And of course, I had a message for Karen.

I also published 17 freelance pieces this year for publications like Stylist, Travel and Leisure, SheKnows, Rooted in Rights, DAME, Washington Post and CNN Opinion. I truly loved writing about my favorite topics like disabilities, pop culture and political and social commentary. My absolute favorite, though, was getting to interview THE Bradley Whitford for my political dramas piece! As you can probably imagine, I almost died because The West Wing is just the greatest TV show on the planet! He was so nice and kind!

(Also, I still have some bylines from 2020 that I haven’t shared on the blog yet, so look for those in January!)

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t end this holiday post with a very important reminder:

You might not know because it’s not trending anymore, but the United States has reached 322K deaths from COVID. 322K people have died in just 10 months! This virus isn’t some intangible thing and I’m going to keep repeating this: If you’re still making holiday travel plans, JUST STOP. We’re in the middle of a pandemic. Stop trying to make normal happen…

Here I am at the local university library. It’s one of my favorite haunts, a place I loved going to for the quiet hours of writing and to get lots of work done. I took this photo on March 4th and haven’t been back there since. In fact, I’ve only left my neighborhood twice in the last nine months and those two times were for medical appointments.

We all have places we miss because of the pandemic and it’s OK to feel that sadness sometimes! But what’s not OK is being reckless and dangerous. Wear your damn mask, practice social distancing and for all that is holy, JUST STAY HOME this year!! Please. People keep saying that this pandemic is going to give us a whole new perspective and we’re all going to be changed people.

I’m over here like: Ummm, based on the shenanigans I’m seeing, y’all haven’t learned a damn thing. People being selfish and reckless. People doing whatever they want as if they’re adult toddlers. People not wearing masks.

Seriously, y’all need to GET IT TOGETHER.

Well, there you are…2020. The year that was and wasn’t in so many different ways. I don’t know about you, but I desperately need a long break!! And that’s exactly what I’m going to do! I’ll be taking my annual holiday break, enjoying time with my mom and sister and just generally getting my chill on after this wretched, wretched year. Look for new posts starting on Monday, January 11th, 2021.

Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with me this year, friends!! I’m still so shocked and grateful that people actually read my little old blog and I love you all so much! Go rest, relax and recharge and I’ll see you back here next year! May it be a better year than 2020 was!

Happy holidays — as happy as we can be right now! xoxo

And as always, feel free to connect with me on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin! See you there!!

I had big plans for this week, friends!! I was going to blog every day, send some pitches out and check things off my to-do list right and left. Well, here we are — it’s Friday and this is my first blog post of the week. So you can pretty much guess how I did with those other goals…or, actually, didn’t do. But this week did get me thinking about Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season.

This Thanksgiving is going to be different. There’s no denying that, no getting around it, no pretending COVID doesn’t exist, no going on about our lives as if things were normal.

Because our lives? They’re not normal and they haven’t been for months. Nothing is normal. It’s been EIGHT MONTHS since I first wrote about COVID. Doesn’t that seem like a lifetime ago now? Eight months and, honestly, I sometimes feel like nothing has changed, especially when it comes to how people are living. People are brazen at best and unashamed at worst — proudly defying mask wearing and social distancing mandates in the name of their “freedom” while constantly putting others at risk.

I can’t with this nonsense anymore. And when I think about the holiday season, I just get even more afraid. Thanksgiving is less than a week away. There are now 252K people who will never get to spend another holiday — or ANY day — with their loved ones.

The least y’all could do is not be selfish with your holiday gatherings! What I’m seeing right now is a whole bunch of reckless and irresponsible.

Suffice it to say, I’m not looking forward to watching these irresponsible holiday shenanigans unfold on social media; I don’t want to see photos of your raucous family wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and huddled all close together around the tree. I promise, everyone will be OK without your secret-recipe pumpkin pie for one year, Aunt Karen!

If I sound a bit angry, well, it’s because I am. And I’m frustrated beyond belief. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people say “people should be able to decide what they want to do without judgment.”

But here’s the thing: No one is an island. What you do — and the germs you carry — impact other people! We need to start acting like a global community and actually care about the well-being of those around us.

The pandemic isn’t over just because you want life to be “normal” again.

We can still enjoy Thanksgiving this year, though! Create a family meeting on Zoom or do a FaceTime dessert time. Our lives may not be normal right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create new, safe traditions and enjoy ourselves!!

Just know that if you’re feeling like you’re running on empty, I see you and I’m right there with you! I’m taking the next week off to rest and recharge and I hope you can take some time for you too!

I’ll be back to regular posting on Monday, November 30th — and I’ve got an exciting collaboration coming up in early December that I’m so excited about.

Please, please stay safe, friends!! Have a lovely, happy, distant Thanksgiving!! xoxo