2020: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2020 will go down in history books as the year that COVID-19 swept around the world, disrupting every aspect of life as we knew it. The impact was different in different countries, as governments decided upon how extreme the measures they needed to take. For many this year was the worst ever. But for me, there were many positives to be taken from 2020.

The Good

• 2020 was the year our second son was born. As if to brighten up our whole year, Mateo arrived in December.​
  
• 2020 was the year I was able to spend more time with my son because I was working from home, and so could manage my time in different ways.
• 2020 was the year my first son developed his English (Spanish had been his main language before this).
• 2020 was the year I reconnected with some old friends, who I had allowed distance to separate me from.
• 2020 was the year I read more books than any other year.
• 2020 was the year I learned a whole new host of skills around teaching that I never imagined would be needed.
• 2020 was the year I realised that family comes before work.
• 2020 was the year we bought a car, enabling us to visit the Zoo and go to the beach.
• 2020 was the year my website quadrupled its average monthly hits.
• 2020 was the year I gave my first CPD webinar to teachers from outside my school.
• 2020 was the year I was first able to attend a MathsConf (as it was virtual).
• 2020 was the year we were able to save a substantial sum of money to put aside for our sons futures.

The Bad

• 2020 was the year we had to live through the panic of not being able to get food due to shortages.
• 2020 was the year we weren't allowed to leave the house for over 3 months.
• 2020 was the year my son got to attend his first day of school , only for it to be closed for the rest of the year the very next day.
• 2020 was the year I had to walk to the supermarket, suitcases in hand, wearing a mask, visor and gloves, in the middle of a very hot Peruvian summer.

The Ugly

• 2020 was the year my great-grandmother passed away (not COVID), before learning she was going to be a great-great-grandmother for the second time.
• 2020 was the year our son was taken into neonatal intensive care at birth (all fine now), and put us through the most difficult 24 hours of our lives so far.
• 2020 was the year we tried to make up for the lack of social interaction our son was getting by spoiling him and buying him too many new toys.
• 2020 was the year my trusty PS3 died.