Oh 2020, your numbers seemed so round and promising…  and really, there was a lot to love.

If you follow this blog at all, you have a sense of what our year was like, but there are some things I left out. I was able to return to work in June with all the relevant PPE and procedures in place. I have had to scale back just a little bit because of my own needs, but all the work that I want to do is there for me and I am tremendously grateful for it. I had just under three months to walk my neighborhood and work in my garden while collecting unemployment for the first time in my life, and it feels pretty great to be helping people feel better in their bodies five days a week.

Huckleberry entertained himself this year by building a WW1-era German Soldier’s kit for re-enactment gatherings and earning a well-deserved black belt through his Kung Fu school. He also did the classroom portion of drivers’ education online and managed to continue learning virtually at his high school, Summit Sierra. Most of his social life was screen-based, but we did manage to get some kids over for an outdoor birthday celebration in August. He also co-created a ceremony for his own coming-of-age with our friend Ben, which took place in late October. He’s currently studying the German language with an online tutor in addition to the challenging coursework of his junior year. Also, despite being 16 and trapped at home with his parents, his parents still love him a whole lot and even enjoy his company!

Morgan has been busy building things for other people, but he did manage to make a real bathroom for us and learn a whole bunch of new songs on the guitar. Check out this pretty base he made for our friend’s big-ass crystal!  Someday, when this house is done, I hope he spends more time making beautiful things out of bronze.

Speaking of beautiful things, I spent a lot of time pointing my fancy phone camera at them this year, and I have managed to put a lot of them up on my Flickr account.  Have a look!

In early March I was invited by a mentor to see this year as a crucible, a metaphor that I sincerely hope is fitting. [crucible \KROO-suh-bul\ noun. 1 : a vessel in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted. 2 : a severe test. 3 : a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development.] Change is hard, and we generally won’t undertake it without sufficient discomfort. I am grateful to 2020 for showing us in great detail what work we have in front of us, and I believe (despite some very discouraging evidence) that we will undertake at least some of that work in the years to come with the energy and wisdom that this crazy year has generated. At the very least: change is coming, and we would be wise to participate willingly and with our wits about us. 

One or two things this house project has taught me: 

• all progress should be celebrated
• the modern sewer system is a civilizing gift 
• a heated home feels really cozy 
• adaptability is a crucial life skill 
• patience and perseverance pays off 

So, my friends, let’s celebrate the progress we have made for just a moment before we forge ahead, in our heated homes, with our flushing toilets and clean water to drink. Let us cultivate a sense of the profound privilege of being, of having bodies in in this particular place and time. What a weird and wonderful marvel! 

Much love from all of us here at the Hammershack, where we wish you resilience, fortitude, and best of luck in the coming year.