A Year in Review – 2020

This is the 7th year in a row that I’ve answered this exact set of questions looking back at the year that is quickly slipping away & looking forward to the new year that is upon us! 7 years in a row – that’s so crazy to think about! It’s really fun to look back now over the past 6 years and read what I was most proud of, what I learned, and what I was most excited for – it’s fun to see the progression of my goals growing and changing.
Shout out to Jamie Delaine for originally inspiring & sharing the outline to this post 7 years ago!

If you’d like to go back and read over what I wrote the previous 6 years I have done this, click here for 2014’s version, click here for 2015’s version, click here for 2016’s version, click here for 2017’s version, click here for 2018’s version, and click here for 2019’s version!

And if the ridiculous amount of words in this post intimidate you – I promise I’m not offended by you choosing to skip this one (there are over 2,950 words!). In the next few weeks, I have a lot more “pretty” posts planned – my favorite wedding & engagement session images from 2020, as well as some Abby Saturday bloopers, plus the ever-popular “behind-the-scenes” look at me while I’m “on the job”! So, stay tuned!

Of course, if you’re into reading words – let’s dive in!

LOOKING BACK

What are you most proud of this year?

We survived – duh!
January & February 2020 literally feel like decades ago. It’s so weird to think that in February, we took a trip out to American Dream & had the most wonderful time – completely oblivious as to what was just around the corner. We didn’t wear masks, we only washed our hands after using the restroom & before eating, we stood in line just inches from the people in front of & behind us – all things that seem absolutely foreign today.

What’s even crazier to think though is that: when things got “shut down” mid-March – we settled in for (what we all believed would be) a 2-week quarantine in order to really kick this thing & flatten the curve. That statement literally seems laughable as we head into January – we’re still very much in “lock-down” mode, still fighting to flatten that darn curve & not overwhelm our hospital systems.

I remember spending Easter, at home, by ourselves – completely convinced that this thing was just about over & we’d go back to normal super soon.
NOPE.
We spent Thanksgiving, at home, by ourselves.
We spent most of Christmas, at home, by ourselves.
And here we are, spending New Year’s Eve, at home, and by ourselves.
That’s not to say we haven’t seen family or done anything at all in 2020. We’ve weighed the risks & traveled, we’ve visited amusement parks, we’ve visited family, and we’ve even (gasp) eaten inside of restaurants (twice).

It’s been a weird year.
It’s been stressful. Being an adult & a parent is so challenging – and then toss in a pandemic just to make things more interesting, means a lot of stress. It’s strained our relationships for sure, but also made them stronger. It’s made us treasure the time we spend with our family more than we ever have before, and it’s made us refuse to take for granted all the “normal” things we once did (like not wearing masks, being able to have a continental breakfast in a hotel, and blowing out birthday candles on a cake everyone then eats afterward).
But we’ve survived – and that is what I’m most proud of.

What was the biggest risk you took?

I had a solid wedding season booked for 2020. My weddings were pretty well spread out from spring-to-summer-to-fall & I was super excited to work with a whole slew of absolutely amazing couples. But, then March 2020 hit & everything began to fall to pieces.

This was brand new territory for everyone & ultimately, I made the decision to run my business a little bit differently than I was seeing other wedding vendors run their businesses. Normally, I try to go along with “industry standard” things, but some of the things I was seeing other vendors do, just didn’t sit quite right with me. So, I made the decision to do what I’ve always done in my business & treat my clients the way I would want to be treated.

To put it bluntly: this meant that I lost a lot of money in 2020. I fully refunded 2 weddings that got canceled or postponed to a date I was unavailable for (even though, contractually, I did not have to). I gave all of my couples the option of moving their wedding date without any additional fees or retainers (and several of my couples ended up taking this option). Ultimately, I did my best to do what was right by my couples – even if it meant losing several thousand dollars.

Has that risk paid off? I guess we’ll have to wait & see.
Ultimately though, my conscience is clear & I know I did what I felt was right.

What did you learn this year?

I feel like I learned a million things this year. So much about myself, about how I respond to things, about cleanliness, about other people, about our family’s resiliency & adaptability (I mean, who knew that a 5-year-old could wear a mask, without any complaints, and here I am, still trying to get used to the darn thing).

Even when the world is spinning out of control around us, that things can still be okay.

What do you wish you had made more time for?

I wish I had made more time & put more effort into connecting with other people. I mean, let’s be real, I am an introvert, so connecting with friends is work for me. It’s work that is well worth the effort, but it still is “work”.
So, I won’t lie: the thought of quarantining at home for a few weeks is kind of a-okay in my book. I love being home. I love the no-makeup, yoga pants, no-bra days (did I just say that on my blog? yikes – things are getting really real here in 2020!) But, I really do just love home. I love our routines & our space & the ease of it all. Being out in a social space is draining for me, but being quiet, at home, is just so good.
All that to say: I still really missed my people. I missed my family, my friends, my Tuesdays Together group. I missed being able to casually get together with a perspective client to have coffee at Starbucks!
At the beginning of all of this crazy, I feel like I did a fairly decent job at trying to reach out via Zoom & MarcoPolo. But, it was all new & shiny at the time, so it was fun. Now, in December, the shiny has worn off & it’s not quite as fun any more.
But, you know what? I really should have made more time to keep it up. I see that now. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s work well worth it.

What are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?

1. We were still able to take time off to go on roller coaster riding trips! 2020 couldn’t keep us down – no way! We went on 3 separate, extended trips to visit different amusement parks, plus Derrick & I went on one day-trip to Cedar Point, plus we visited Kennywood (our home park) at least once a week.
   (And as a sub-highlight of that) I started a YouTube channel & began vlogging our trips (which is SO much fun!) I truly cannot wait to do more vlogging in 2021! I have no idea if I’m doing it “right” (I don’t think I’ve ever watched a single “vlog”, but I love the little videos of the highlights of our trips! And let’s be honest: it’s probably just my “Mom-eyes” – I just love watching my little people so excited & happy!)
2. My sister Amy & (now brother-in-law) Nathan’s wedding in June! Talk about a huge bright spot in the middle of the summer of “unknown”. It looked completely different than they’d planned – but I believe it was absolutely perfect. Braelynn was a flower girl & Leander was the ring bearer, while Derrick played videographer – it was a ton of work to host a wedding in my parent’s backyard, but it was so beautiful & perfect & such a huge highlight for 2020.
3. Maybe it’s just because of all the extra time at home we had this year, but I killed my goals in 2020! Look back at last year’s post: my 3 goals were to revamp my website, create our 2019 Family Yearbook, and continue to help Derrick move his business forward.
   Well, I accomplished all three!! I completely overhauled my website (which honestly, feels like decades ago now – in fact, I actually had to double check some of my files to see if I had actually overhauled my website in 2020 or back in 2019 – January was SO long ago!)
   I successfully created our 2019 Family Yearbook & had it printed (it is massive and so gorgeous & absolutely precious to me!) I cannot wait to begin the process of making our 2020 Family Yearbook!
   And, as far as helping Derrick – along with providing him with a ton of new roller coaster photos (some of which are the best roller coaster photos I have ever taken – if I can toot my own horn there for a moment) but I also took over his Instagram account. XscreamThrills started out as an Instagram account – but Derrick has since moved most of his efforts over to YouTube (that’s where he’s actually making some money after all). So, his Instagram was falling a little behind – so I stepped in & have helped build it back up. Since taking over management of his Instagram account mid-summer, I have doubled his Instagram following (WOOP).
   See?! I killed my goals in 2020!

LOOKING FORWARD

What “word” do you want to define 2021?

The word I’ve picked for 2021 is “GRATITUDE”.
Okay, now, I’ve been writing this blog post for about 2 weeks. It’s such a doozy to undertake, that I always open this post & mull over the questions for a few weeks before I actually hit “publish”. I say that to say: “gratitude” was not my original word. I had originally picked a really delicious, lofty word that made me feel really good, but ultimately, like I do almost every year, I decided to change it at the last minute. Seriously! I think every single year, the very last section of this blog post that gets written is this “word” section, because I always seem to change my word at the last minute.

Okay, so “gratitude” – I really want to focus on being thankful in 2021. Thankful for little things, big things, things that make me uncomfortable, things I don’t understand – just thankful. I bought myself a gratitude journal from Promptly Journals & I’m excited to dig into it in the coming year. I truly believe that I’ve let thankfulness & gratitude & appreciation kind of slip by the wayside in the last few years. And, well, that needs to change. Thus – I’m officially making it a focus & my word of the year.

What are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2021?

1. I want to read 12 business-type books (I have them all, and they’re sitting on my shelf, but I haven’t read them – and reading is definitely my therapy, so I need to do more of it). A goal of 12 books for the year means 1 book per month. As a kid, I would have laughed at this goal: 12 books for a whole year? I can read 12 books in a month. But, I now have a business, 2 kids, a household to run, and a husband to keep in line. 12 books is a solid goal.
2. I need to continue to hone in my brand. I revamped my website in 2020, but I need to continue that process thru my pricing brochure, my email copy, and the information I send my couples as they prepare for their engagement session & wedding day. I’ve been shooting weddings for 11 years – it’s time to really make everything pretty & bring it up to date.
3. We really want to do some work on our house in 2021. We’ve done some really big projects over the last few years that we’ve lived here & after not doing much in 2020, it’s time to dig in & start another project. Our goal & hope is to close in our front “porch” and make that a mudroom & new entrance, re-model our current laundry room to make it a laundry room + bathroom (giving us a 2-bath house!), and that means finding space somewhere for me to have an office (still working on that one).

What do you want to stop doing in 2021?

(First off: I just have to say – last year, my answer to this question was: “I want to stop being so against change. I love a plan, I love a schedule, and I love when things are in order. It flusters me to no end to have someone change up the plan at the last minute, or to break into my schedule & throw it off, or to mix things up & throw them out of order. So, in 2020, when Derrick tosses out ideas that threaten to change things up – I want to be more receptive of those ideas.”
And I have to say: I think I accomplished this! We went on multiple trips in 2020 & all of them were planned at the last minute (in some cases, we were booking hotel rooms for that night as we traveled). I am a planner – I like things to be all ironed out & set way ahead of time, so flying by the seat of our pants like that was a bit crazy for me. But, you know what? It was great! Everything ended up working out & I really enjoyed not being so rigid & against change!)

Okay, so on to this year: I want to stop coming up with great ideas & then never acting on them. Seriously! I have all these great ideas all the time that I mull over, never fully flush out, and then let quietly slide away. Sometimes, it’s because I lose momentum, sometimes it’s because I forget the core-reason I was working on the idea, and sometimes I just need to write ideas down so I can come back to them at a later time. No more great ideas slipping away – I want to pick them up & run with them!

What things excite you about the upcoming year?

I’m SO excited for all the rules & regulations of 2020 to begin to fall away & for masks to no longer be required in amusement parks!! I hate – wait “hate” might not be a strong enough word – despise not being able to see my kids’ happy, smiling faces on rides & as they enjoy amusement parks because they’re covered up with a mask! (Not to mention, they’re hot, hard to breathe in, and uncomfortable when temps are up in the 90’s!) I don’t mind dealing with masks in indoor situations, the hand sanitizer can stay, but I’m SO ready to be rid of wearing masks outdoors. (And I’m really crossing my fingers & hoping that by late spring & summer of 2021, this can become a reality).

Derrick & I have some big trips planned for 2021 (I know, I know, we had “big trips” planned for 2020). But, we have some exciting things up our sleeves & I absolutely cannot wait! We have so many ideas & things we want to try – and 2021 is going to be a year of moving forward on some of those ideas.

I’m excited for warm, sunny days at Deep Creek. I’m excited to spend more time with our families. I’m excited to get back to church. I’m excited to continue working on our backyard. I’m excited to continue working on our house! I’m excited to watch our kids continue to learn & grow. I’m excited to potty-train Leander. I’m excited to continue homeschooling Braelynn. I’m excited to continue doing life with my best friend.

What do you want to learn in 2021?

2020 has been a literal roller coaster. I feel like my emotional state has been all over the place (can I get an “amen” from the audience?) I mean, who hasn’t felt that way in 2020? The answer is: no one. It’s been an insane year.
So, moving into 2021, I really would like to learn how to be more content, more even – less roller-coaster-y. And, I think my “word” of the year (if you missed it – it’s a few paragraphs up) will really help with this.

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So, there you have it! If you’re interested in playing along and looking back over 2020 & looking forward to 2021 along with me – here is the list of questions to copy & paste! If you do, would you tag me in your post either on Instagram or on Facebook? I’d love to read up on your year in review & your goals for 2020! You can even grab my graphic to use! Here’s the link to download it!

LOOKING BACK
What are you most proud of this year?
What was the biggest risk you took?
What did you learn this year?
What do you wish you had made more time for?
What are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?

LOOKING FORWARD
What “word” do you want to define 2021?
What are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2021?
What do you want to stop doing in 2021?
What things excite you about the upcoming year?
What do you want to learn in 2021?