Best of 2020: Favorite Moment

I know, I know…this was an awful year and there was nothing good about it. However, as these posts the past few days have shown, there have been some great things this year. 

We started the year off with Payton’s birthday party and it was a great time. 2020 looked to be on track for some awesomeness. After that it seemed like we were spending a good bit of our time planning for Logan’s first birthday party and working on house things. Then came the pandemic. 

Things were not all bad during it though. Once the weather warmed up, we started going on hikes with the kids. We hit up a few of the parks around here and even took a little day trip to Ohiopyle. There were also plenty of days of just playing at home. 

I played a bit more golf this year, which was definitely a good thing. I tried getting Payton to hit balls in the yard with me, but she was just not quite interested yet. I also got to play in a charity scramble with my brother-in-law and father-in-law. 

My favorite moment of the year though? My birthday party. I tried to put into words how turning forty felt, but to be honest, I did not realize it until after it was all over. For the past year or so there has been a weight hanging around my neck. 

I am not going to lie, I have been a bit depressed and at one point, I actually called a psychiatrist, but the only appointments were zoom only and I just did not feel comfortable doing it that way. Do not judge me people. 

Anyways, back to the party. I think the reason I was depressed about turning forty is that I felt like my youth was dying and I did not know how to transition to the next stage. I was afraid that my friends were not coming with me on this adventure. And yet, there they were. James came down from Connecticut to celebrate with me. Ryan brought his girlfriend Alex up from Pittsburgh (he wanted her to meet us, she must be special). And Jason, my best friend, was there. He is always there for me. Seeing them let me know that just because I am getting older and my life has changed (kids, wife, mortgage, house projects? who am I???), that we will always be friends and they will always be there for me. 

After my party (and once my hangover went away), I felt different. My mood changed. I felt like the pressure had been lifted. I can now move forward with life and am excited for the future.

My only regret is that I did not take more pictures from my party, so instead enjoy these pictures from 2020…