Dec 29

Dec 29 Episode #90: Looking Back on 2020

Welcome to the “Looking Back on 2020” episode! Grace and Alvina take the time to reflect back on this historic year and share some highlights, lowlights, and how they did with their personal goals and resolutions. They catch up on each other’s lives and also share what they’re grateful for.

“How have you been?”

Grace: Despite the fact that Covid-19 cases have been surging around the world, Grace has been doing pretty well. She successfully figured out how to do virtual school visits! It had been weighing on her because she wasn’t sure how she could create such a fun, interactive, and unique presentation like she does in-person. How could she still make them special? She had been worried about the school visit income stream and how to continue to do them virtually. She’s confident that she has “cracked the nut” now and feels happy and confident about this!

Alvina has been working on her “inbox zero” goal of getting down to no emails by the end of the year! She has also been busy moving back to Brooklyn with Stephen.

Looking back on 2020

Grace and Alvina started by listening to the Book Friends Forever episode #44, “Looking Backwards, Looking Forwards” published on January 2nd, 2020. On this episode, they shared their goals for the upcoming year and Grace commented on how hopeful she sounded. Little did they know about the 2020 pandemic curve ball.

Some of their goals were actually met even though it was such a challenging year. For Alvina, she had found a life partner! Her other goals were based on finding life balance between work, travel, friends, and staying healthy. She did get to travel to Mexico right before the pandemic! Burlington has also counted as a travel adventure. Physical health has been an easy one to maintain throughout the year. Socially, it has been a challenge during the pandemic to meet some goals like hostessing dinner parties, going out for drinks with friends, etc…

Grace’s goals were mostly related to working and her career. She’s feeling more confident about writing books since the 2016 election. She started a writing group with Jonathan Auxier, Kate Milford, and Laurel Synder and hopes to have a novel out by 2021! “I might do another picture book in that fade away style, so that’s happening now.”

Grace’s studio with new paintings in the works!

Grace’s last hope for the year was to have her own personal definition of success and to be confident about it. She is still building on the foundation of that definition. However she notes, “The silver lining of this pandemic is that I’ve been home a lot and had less fear of missing out.” It is easier to focus on work and not feeling like she should be doing all these other things.

Resolutions

How did the Book Friends do on 2020 resolutions?

Alvina: Alvina listed her resolutions under categories: Mental, Physical, Spiritual and Social. Her mental resolution was to do something challenging to take her out of her comfort zone. This was tough to do in the middle of a pandemic. Her resolution word of the year was “courage.” Hosting the Carle Honors was an event that fit this category but she is not sure what this year’s word will be.

Grace: Her phrase for the year was “nourish and flourish.” Her resolution was to try and go to a museum at least three times. This was also tough to accomplish in the middle of a pandemic. She also wanted to post on Instagram three times a week and that has been a fairly easy goal to meet. She also has a “use my best work creative work” resolution. Her goal was to use the night time questions log. The idea is that if you have a creative problem at night, write a question down, and it will help you find the answer in the morning. Grace didn’t do this. It’s easier for writing, but since she was focusing on painting, it doesn’t apply as well.

One goal she did meet was walking for two hours in silence! She has exceeded this as she walks almost everyday now.

Alvina also met her goal of exercising three times a week as she has been getting out for exercise just about everyday.

Highlights and Lowlights

For Alvina, obviously the pandemic has been a lowlight for her. Aside from that, her work email has been an ongoing problem. She also mentions the extreme differences in opinions across the country on politics and pandemics. “How do you talk to someone where their core view of reality is so different?” That is incredibly hard. Which leads right into Grace’s lowlight…

For Grace, a lowlight was the death of George Floyd. One of the most difficult parts surrounding this tragic event, was trying to resolve a way to reconcile a loved one’s beliefs that were so different from her own. It is still an ongoing struggle.

On happier notes, Grace and Alvina talk about the highlights of the year: For Alvina, one of them was of course the day she came to Burlington and met Stephen for the first time ever! It was indeed a life-changing trip. For Grace, the highlight has been the ability to stay home with her family and spend so much time together. Before the pandemic, she was traveling all the time for school visits and that was hard for everyone.

What are you grateful for?

Alvina is grateful for the opportunity to see the Northern Lights in Vermont! A spectacular sighting with Stephen on lake Champlain.

Grace is grateful for her second Christmas tree! Aside from their family tree, she placed a small one in her studio to make it cozy for zoom calls and working.

THANK YOU so much for tuning in and reflecting on 2020 with the Book Friends Forever! Please rate and review them on Apple Podcasts (There hasn’t been a review since August!) See you in 2021- a year for hope.