2021! So long 2020!
On New Year’s Eve in Castor, the Foreman and I spent the evening watching fireworks, safely distanced in our vehicles, along with hundreds from the community and area. It was a treat. So many community businesses and local people had worked together to brighten the end of a tough year. With each new dazzling display that shot up into the night sky, one couldn’t help but feel optimistic about the new year arriving in a few hours.
2020 has been a year to remember — one most would like to forget. But we are certainly not the first people to have endured hard times in our country.
I think of those who suffered through two terrible wars, one followed by the pandemic of 1918. I think of early settlers who travelled to Canada from other countries to make a new life, many to survive alone out on the prairies in sod shacks. Then there was the hardship of the dirty thirties, the polio scare, residential schools, and the list goes on.
Our ancestors had to be tough, and over the past year we’ve also learned that we too are resilient. We have endured, learned skills and found strength within ourselves and our communities.
We have had to learn new technological skills. We learned to run meetings by Zoom or Skype. My husband, the farmer who can take apart and put back together farm equipment, is not computer savvy. He had to learn that if you roll your eyes on a Zoom call, other people on the call can see you!
Children, parents and teachers went to school online. Not an easy feat and especially hard for those children who find school a safe place to be and who were missing their friends. But on the upside, after this year of school, everything will be easy!
We have had to find ourselves. We have had to learn to be alone. We have had to pour that cup of coffee and call a friend. We have learned to downsize our busy lives. We learned to relax over a good book, do a jigsaw puzzle, play games with our families and learn new hobbies.
The challenge has also brought out the good in many: neighbours helping neighbours, groceries brought to doors by caring friends. Letters, cards, flowers and outdoor entertainment brought to senior’s lodges and drive-by birthday parties for young and old.
In Castor, our local fire department even did a Halloween drive-by, throwing treats out to children who gathered (distantly) on sidewalks. They did it again on Christmas Eve with the help of local citizens and Santa Claus.
In 2020, people made an extra effort to support local businesses and locals held online auctions and raffles help with the fund-raising needs in the community.
With each spiral of exploding sparks from the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, I celebrated our wonderful front-line workers. I have been moved so many times and buoyed by their courage and strength. The doctors, nurses, care workers, police, firemen, and EMTs, who leave their families at home because they are needed to protect and help others. They alone give us a reason and hope to celebrate each day.
Happy New Year, everyone!
- Beth
