2020 was a historical year on many levels. The CoVID-19 (Coronavirus) worldwide pandemic stopped life as we knew it, in every corner of the globe. International travel was halted, many businesses closed doors and every public event was cancelled and closed (schools, churches, sporting events, concerts, vacations, holiday celebrations, playgrounds and even birthdays). Everybody quarantined in their home, while many lost jobs, healthcare employees working around the clock 24-7, technology companies thrived, and porch delivery services excelled (for some restaurants, grocers, and retailers).
THE GOAL: stop/slow the spread of a deadly contagious virus.
While we experience a global health crisis, the USA made history. Politics was a great contributor to a divided nation during President Donald Trump's administration, unfortunately during a time when unity was needed most. Lawmaker's response to CoVID-19 varied which added another level of disunity (some states/cities follow scientific guidelines of wearing face masks and socially distance 6 feet, while others did not). The death of George Floyd had reignited the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement which highlighted our country's history of perpetual and systemic racial failures. In November, America was watching the presidential election race closely when President-elect Joe Biden and Madam Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (first female, first Black, first South Asian in office) made history, declaring victory over current President Donald Trump.
For the Hopwoods, we hunkered down and thankfully have each other. Diana snagged up face masks, hand sanitizers, all-purpose cleaners and toilet paper while reminding the kids to wash their hands frequently. Alex opened his laptop from home everyday, and thankfully Expedia secured funding early in the recession. The kids quickly got familiar with their iPads, Chromebooks, and software programs like Seesaw and Zoom. When schools closed their doors on March 16, 2020 some teachers describe spring 2020 as "crisis learning", not knowing when education would resume in-building again. In lieu of traditional school, we had fun with minute-to-win-it games, balloon racquetball, obstacle courses and learning new life skills (right vs. left, counting coins, wearing face masks properly and folding laundry to name a few). In September 2020, the boys transitioned to "fully remote online learning" and we organized a room from storage to school-office. 1.5 hours of live Zoom instruction, lunch, then an additional 30 minutes of Specialists Zoom meeting in the afternoon (with teachers who showed-up and conquered daily). Despite having to cancel a California & Korea vacation and simultaneously watching Expedia stock decline, we're thankful Alex continues to holds his position and family camping in Mt.Rainier and Camano Island were acceptable vacation alternatives. The boys pass the time by playing video games like Minecraft, following professional football games and learning how to fish. In addition to helping Diana around the house, Naomi learned to ride a bike, began to read and engaged in circle-time preschool via Zoom (2x/week).
With a simplified lifestyle, we're thankful to cling to the utmost priorities of life: faith, family, and love. In FAITH we believe that God is at work, resetting many hearts to what's important, and know that the pandemic will resolve at the right time. FAMILY is the only people who we can tolerate our isolated behaviors, emotions and vulnerabilities with grace, compassion and laughter. Busy activity schedules are substituted with more playful games and movie nights together. Work, school, church, meals all together all at home, all the time. LOVE is what empowers us - "we love because He first loves us" (1 John 4:19). Love to family, friend, colleague/teacher, marginalized & oppressed (underprivileged), even the tired & weary (essential workers and emotionally depressed). In our conviction to love others - we wear face masks and obey health guidelines because "wearing is caring". Alex regularly donated groceries to non-profit organizations, and Diana became responsible for the school's Care Closet of delivering food, household essentials and school supplies to low-income families every week. Blessed to be a blessing!
2020-2021 milestones included:
- Jeungjo Halmonee's (great-grandmother's) 95th birthday
- Halmonee's (Diana's mother's) 70th birthday
- James family 20th wedding anniversary
- Diana's 40th birthday
- Sold the Mount Baker, Seattle house (which we owned for 14 years).
With heavy hearts we honor and remember:
- Paul Nelson, 63 (Alex's uncle, passed in October 2020)
- Barb Trevino, 71 (Alex's aunt, passed in December 2020)
- 441,000+ other Americans who have died from CoVID-19
- 2 million+ souls worldwide from CoVID-19
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