Seeking out Silver Linings: Focusing on the Gifts of 2020

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When things look their bleakest, seeking out silver linings can restore hope.

 

We get it.
2020 has been bad. Really bad.

 

As a mom, this year has tested me to my limit. As a spouse, it’s shown me the value of finding time for the two of us. As a modern society, we’ve corporately experienced hardship, possibly like never before.  And we all want to talk about it. We want to share the memes that show just how awful this year has been. We want to commiserate the losses and the hardships that have befallen us.

a silver lining as the sun breaks through the dark clouds and shoots rays across the sky

But what about the good? What about the silver linings? There is plenty of good to be found in 2020, and once I changed my framework, I began to see more and more silver linings in this very difficult year.  In early September, I told myself to be keenly aware of the silver linings during this dark time, and I started to take notes.

  • My two boys should be apart for the first time, and instead, they are laughing and riding bikes together at 10:00 a.m. on a Tuesday.
  • I have a front-row seat to reading assessments, music class, and math activities. I get to watch my son and learn what kind of learner he is and how he may thrive and struggle in school.
  • I get to make my husband breakfast each morning, and he gets to sit and enjoy it with our boys. We get to see each other throughout the day, communicating the details of our family life and spending moments together.
  • Our work and school time starts later and ends earlier. We have a lot of extra family time sprinkled in throughout the day.
  • I get to visit with neighbors I rarely saw when we were all rushing to and from work each day. 

There is so much uncertainty during this difficult time. Most people are being stretched in ways they never have before. Despite all the bad, there still is so much good. In so many ways, we have been granted the gift of time, which is hard to come upon in the hustle and bustle of our modern lives. Although it can be hard to get past the immense loss we have experienced in this most difficult year, I challenge you to take a step back and take a good look at your life.

Where are your silver linings? How are you being blessed during this most difficult time? 

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Katie Mueth
Katie is a Des Peres mom of two young boys, Trace (2014) and Henry (2016). Katie stays home with her boys most of the time but also spends a bit of time away as a high school lacrosse coach. Katie enjoys connecting with other moms to run, meet at parks, explore new restaurants, listen to live music and discuss books. Katie and her boys can be found enjoying many activities around St. Louis including the Science Center, Zoo, Magic House, Museum of Transportation, Urban Fort and Frisco Train Store, but what they enjoy most is just being outdoors. They have tried many of the parks around St. Louis City and county and also love hiking trails at Laumeier Sculpture Park, Powder Valley and Shaw Nature Reserve. Katie and her family love all that St. Louis has to offer for families of young children and can most often be found taking advantage of all of the many opportunities.