The 12 Days of Christmas––2020 Style
This year hasn’t been all bad, despite how it feels sometimes. So, in its honor, a song about 2020:
On the 1st day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a new vocabulary. COVID-19, Coronavirus, social distancing, PPE, temperature checks, touchless, work from home – all new words and phrases that have become second nature.
On the 2nd day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a new surface cleaning system which cuts down on germs and cleaning and sanitizing time.
On the 3rd day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a shorter commute. No more hustling through your morning routine to miss traffic or sitting in traffic after a long day at the office.
On the 4th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a new appreciation for teachers, coaches and principals. We all knew educating kids isn’t easy, but having to wrangle iPads, Zoom calls, vocabulary lists and multiplication tables has brought home just how tough it is to keep little minds learning and engaged.
On the 5th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, tips to combat COVID-19 in our workplace. This is the year we learned how to prioritize safety and cleanliness in our facilities to keep our teams and employees healthy.
On the 6th day of Christmas, 2020 gave me an excuse to stay comfy all day. TV news anchors learned this lesson a long time ago––a nice shirt, a tie if you must, and a jacket on camera, while wearing sweats, tennis shoes or even pajamas on under your desk.
On the 7th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, the chance to deep clean a facility. With fewer people in office buildings this year, this was a great chance for companies to tackle some long-overdue deep cleaning projects. Perhaps were one of them!
On the 8th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a new dog, cat, parakeet or fish. Animal adoptions have skyrocketed through this year. People needing companionship through the pandemic have flocked to shelters to bring home new family members. Several members of the DPM family have added to their broods with a new pet.
On the 9th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, all the time to read or watch TV or cook (if you haven’t made bread or soup, have you really been in quarantine?) or craft. But don’t worry–there’s still time if you haven’t read the books on your nightstand, written The Great American Novel or binged The Crown.
On the 10th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a lesson in adaptability. Whether it was setting up a home office where there hadn’t been one, learning how to teach “new” math, or handling Zoom calls with children and pets everywhere, Tim Gunn would be proud of how we have all learned to “make it work.”
On the 11th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, a chance to rediscover the beauty of Tennessee. One of the safest and best ways to keep ourselves sane is exercise. Finding a new park, new place to hike or just sitting outside and taking in the natural beauty of the state has been a top priority for many Tennesseans.
On the 12th day of Christmas, 2020 gave to me, 2021. Finally. Here’s hoping that the lessons we’ve learned will help us forge a bright and prosperous new year.