Holiday Card 2020

Happy Holidays! Welcome to the Brasher holiday card! Forget about Santas and trees, snowmen and elves, lights and ornaments. 2020 deserves none of the usual holiday cheer. Let us face it, Corona has been a game changer. Who wants to send out Christmas cards when they will probably be delivered late anyway? Why should we decorate when we will not be having any company? Same goes for wrapping presents. Who besides immediate family will be around to unwrap them? 2020 was full of poop and so is my holiday card this year. It will not matter if it delivered late since all it acknowledges is the new year!

The inspiration for this crazy, silly card came to me as every other fun, holiday ritual was stripped from me. I spent my birthday with sparkling apple cider and take-out catfish. And do not even get me started on the practical gifts such as toilet paper, masks, and hand sanitizer. The thought that people did not wipe their bootie or wash their hands before this virus seriously disturbs me and keeps me up at night. I was not able to have a celebratory dinner at my favorite restaurant. All restaurants were just starting to shut down. My family got me a gift card to Kohls. At first, stores were closed. When they opened back up, wearing a mask took all the fun out of shopping!

Fourth of July was meant to be spent at our family condo in Winter Park, Colorado. My favorite part of that annual, week long vacation is the fireworks display that lights up the sky directly over our condo. We do not have to drive anywhere. We just walk to our back deck where we eat and drink to our hearts content. This particular year the fireworks display was cancelled almost immediately after places started shutting down in early April. The management company for our condo was still holding out to be open by the time our week in early July came around. Sadly though, Colorado spiked again in June, and the condo was a no go, let alone the fireworks display.

Fast forward to tonight. It is Christmas Eve. This is a night we normally spend at our dear friends house for their annual lasagna dinner. It is my second favorite meal of the year. Thanksgiving takes first prize in this contest. They serve a feast of lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. Cheesecake tops off the meal as dessert, if you have room that is. We have a standing invitation every year. We do not even need to ask. Instead, I will be trying to replicate their lasagna at home, a tall order, all the while writing this article in time for the midnight deadline. Thanks, yet again, Corona!

New Year's Eve is typically a big party going holiday where drinks are consumed liberally and fireworks are shot off. This year large gatherings are not even allowed. So there goes another fun tradition. New Year's Day is saved for parades and football in my house. I wonder if they will even have my favorite float parade this year. We also take stock in what we would change about the previous year, and what we want to do better in the new year. What can we change about 2020? Wearing masks? Visiting relatives? Going to weddings and/or funerals in person? The toilet paper shortage? What can we do better in the new year? Continue to take precautions and not catch the virus?

Luckily, my two passions are football and dogs. They are my world, so nearly everything can be related to them. Thus, a crappy year was born! My family may not be quite so on board with my holiday cheer. Comments like "Your holiday card was interesting this year." Or, "You left out the words Merry Christmas." Or my all time favorite "Is that even your dog?" Well, you know what they say. You cannot please everyone every day. This is not your day or even your year. Better luck next year! So here is to 2021! I mean, it cannot get any worse, can it??!!