The First Half of 2020 - Mid-Year Review - Landen Kerr

Looking back and reflecting on the first half of 2020. It's been a crazy year but nonetheless filled with plenty of important lessons. TheFirstHalfof2020 July1,2020 NoComments GettinghalfwaythroughtheyearhasneverbeensomethingI’vepaidattentiontobefore,butsuddenlythereareremindersalloverInstagramandI’mwritingablogpostaboutit.2020isfullofsurprisesIsuppose!WhileIcertainlywouldn’thaveexpectedprettymuchanythingthatthefirsthalfof2020hasbrought,Ihavelearnedquiteabit. Thistimelastyear,my2019flighttallybetweentheUSandFrancewaseight.Thisyearit’sone.LikealotofpeopleI’mmentallystillinFebruary…butit’sJuly. Iwanttogetonaplaneandgohomeandseemyfamily,friends,anddogs.I’mreadytogo(IjustlistenedtotheParisAirportsound…neverknewitwouldbepossibletomissthat).But,forthefirsttimeinmylife,I’mnervoustofly.I’mnotworriedaboutmyself.I’mworriedthatsomewherealongthe15hourtravelday(mostlyduringthe11hourflight)Icouldcomeincontactwiththevirusandgiveittosomeoneelse. WhenIleftDallasinJanuary,theplanwastocomebackattheendofJuneforasummervacation.IalwaysthoughtthatmaybeI’dcomeforaquicktripsomewhereinthemiddleofthattosurprisemyparents(andseethedogsandgetmyhairhighlighted).SixmonthslaterandI’mstillinFranceandmyhairstillhasn’tbeenhighlighted.Andthat’sfineforrightnow(butnotforever). LessonsfromtheFirstHalfof2020 I’velearnedsomuchinthefirsthalfof2020.MorethanIcanbegintoarticulate.Hereareafewofthelessons,innoparticularorder: Normandywasthebestthingthatcould’veeverhappenedtomeduringtheconfinement.Romain’sfamilyistherealMVPforlettingmecrashthatparty.Igotoverhighlightingmyhairandboughtapurpleshampooatthegrocerystore.Itworksprettywell.Dogsareamazing.IjokewithRomainthatIloveDaltonmorethanIlovehim.It’snottrue–Ilovethemequally.BlackLivesMatter.Itabsolutelywasn’tenoughformetobesilentlyanti-racist.Idecidedtolisten,learn,andbecomeactivelyanti-racist.Watchingthetinychangeseverydaythatareactuallyspringhappeningisincredible.Drivingatractorandmowingthelawnisrelaxing.Icanmakebuttertortillas.AtotalgamechangerforaTexanlivinginFrance.IcancookprettymuchanythingIwant,eveninmytinykitcheninParis,aslongasI’mpatient,willingtofail,andwillingtokeeptrying(lookingatyou@BriocheBuns).There’sabiggerlifelessoninthere.Tequilaisimportantwhenyou’resuddenlylivingwithsomeoneelse’smultigenerationalfamily,inanotherlanguage.TequilaishardtofindinNormandy.Parisisn’tPariswithoutcafés.Parisisreallybeautifulwhenit’sempty.Takingthetimetosetthetableandusingprettyplates,coffeecups,andnapkinsmakesadifference.Iwanttobesurroundedbyflowersandplantsatalltimes,evenifit’sjustviaawindowbox.Wearingamasktoprotectsomeoneelseisn’tabigdeal.Lifeisallaboutperspective. Ihavenoideawhatthesecondhalfof2020isgoingtolooklike.RegardlessofwhathappensIknowI’llcontinuelearning.Ihopethereareafewmorelong-haulflightsinmynearfuture.AndIreallyhopethatCOVID-19isundercontrolenoughforthebordersbetweenFranceandtheUSreopen. Sharethis:Clicktoemailthistoafriend(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonPinterest(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonFacebook(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonTwitter(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonTumblr(Opensinnewwindow)Likethis:LikeLoading... YouMayAlsoLike: PreviousPost NextPost LeaveaReply Cancelreply Thiswebsiteusescookiestogiveyouthebestexperience.Byclicking'Accept,'youagreetotheuseofcookiesasdescribedinthePrivacyPolicy.CookiesettingsAcceptPrivacy&CookiesPolicy Close PrivacyOverview Thiswebsiteusescookiestoimproveyourexperiencewhileyounavigatethroughthewebsite.Outofthese,thecookiesthatarecategorizedasnecessaryarestoredonyourbrowserastheyareessentialfortheworkingofbasicfunctionalitiesofthewebsite.Wealsousethird-partycookiesthathelpusanalyzeandunderstandhowyouusethiswebsite.Thesecookieswillbestoredinyourbrowseronlywithyourconsent.Youalsohavetheoptiontoopt-outofthesecookies.Butoptingoutofsomeofthesecookiesmayaffectyourbrowsingexperience. Necessary Necessary AlwaysEnabled Necessarycookiesareabsolutelyessentialforthewebsitetofunctionproperly.Thiscategoryonlyincludescookiesthatensuresbasicfunctionalitiesandsecurityfeaturesofthewebsite.Thesecookiesdonotstoreanypersonalinformation. Non-necessary Non-necessary Anycookiesthatmaynotbeparticularlynecessaryforthewebsitetofunctionandisusedspecificallytocollectuserpersonaldataviaanalytics,ads,otherembeddedcontentsaretermedasnon-necessarycookies.Itismandatorytoprocureuserconsentpriortorunningthesecookiesonyourwebsite. SAVE&ACCEPT   LoadingComments...   WriteaComment... Email(Required) Name(Required) Website SendtoEmailAddress YourName YourEmailAddress Cancel Postwasnotsent-checkyouremailaddresses! Emailcheckfailed,pleasetryagain Sorry,yourblogcannotsharepostsbyemail. %dbloggerslikethis: