Reprinted with permission from the Italian Association Online Publication 6th Edition

2020 has come and gone. The year that seemed to not want to end and provided so much grief to so many, finally fizzled away like the effervescence of champagne that stayed open too long. It faded into the night quietly as if it was embarrassed for what it served up in what was to be a grand year for everyone.

History will record 2020 as the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. The year that changed how we mourn, love, and celebrate life and death. We could not wait to start fresh in 2021. What will history say about this new year? It is yet to be written. We now have a clean slate to write this new novel and manage its outcome. What are you hoping for?

Our way of life has changed and will probably continue changing as we adapt to new rules, new ways of interacting, new ways of working, educating, and congregating. It’s a new way of being. Just like scenes from a Stephen King novel, where parking lots are being converted to testing and immunization sites; surrounded by the National Guard with lights glaring down in the dark almost designed to obscure or blind us so we cannot see too far past the boundaries of the lot. And just like in the movies, as we sit on the edge of our seats, knuckles bulging as our hands grasp and cling on to the armrest, we’re hoping for a happy ending.

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