January: I started the year off at an RMA networking event at the Pyramid Club. I could have sworn I would be doing fabulous Banker stuff all year 🤔 ....2020 had other plans. The World Health Organization announced on January 9th that a deadly coronavirus had emerged in Wuhan, China. Then, on January 26th, Kobe Bryant, his daughter, three members of the Altobelli family, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester & the pilot all lost their lives in a ass helicopter crash. It was devastating news and the entire country mourned.
February: For Valentine's Day I got some beautiful roses from Vaughn. I love flowers so much and red roses are my favorite!
My grandma wasn't doing well in February and we spent a lot of time at the hospital.
On Feb. 24th Harvey Weinstein was convicted rap and sexual abuse which started the #MeToo movement. I paid little attention to this, because on Feb. 24th, my grandma passed away.
March: I was so heart broken when my grandma passed. I know she is in a better place, but it still hurts. I can still hear her voice and the way she said my name. Before she does, she basically assigned my Aunt Sophie and myself to handle her arrangements. So i helped with planning. Met with funeral home and wrote the Eulogy. It was a difficult time. But as with most funerals it bring family together, and it was the first time I had seen my sister in brother since 2016.
On another note, my brother and my mom were able to hash some old issues that had left their relationship rocky for years.
April: Face masks were normal at this point, and I had to accept the fact that I would not be returning to the office anytime soon. I honestly thought we would only be out of work for two weeks. Turns out it was the last month that I would see Evelyn and John. (...And I'm still working from home 👎🤦♀️). We started processing PPP loans at work. We worked overtime on weekends and evenings trying to get loans approved for as many small businesses as possible.
The government was issuing $1,200 stimulus checks to families & $500 for each dependent under 17. The $1,200 was not enough for my family. Two of my three dependents were over 17 and the extra money I was earning for processing PPP loans would be received after the project was complete. My son & his girlfriend decided to bake & deliver home made cupcakes to earn some extra money in April. Meanwhile, my daughter had a flight to Hawaii booked before the pandemic hit. She left in early April and had to quarantine there for two weeks. Her return flight was rescheduled and she spent almost the whole month of April in Hawaii. (That wasn't bad at all! Wish it was me 😂😂).
Also, in April, I took in a foster child for two weeks. I know, it seems like a crazy thing to do with everything else going on. I just really wanted to help her. I wouldn't really call her a foster child but I did have to go through the courts to have her temporarily placed in my home. Having a place for her for the short amount of time that I took her in prevented her from being sent to upstate Pennsylvania. It also gave her time to work things out with her mom. I met Mom within a week of her being placed with me and she was back home in about two weeks. She is doing good right now, I'm glad that she's okay and I love that she doesn't give up.
May: Mother's Day went pretty well, but by May I was completely annoyed with the whole COVID-19 situation. Mainly because my son's senior prom was cancelled and we weren't sure if he would have a graduation. Being shut in was also taking a toll on me.
I tried to gather my feelings and deal with the way life changed and the fact that things wouldn't be "normal" again for a long time. I had no choice but to do that. Then, in the middle of the pandemic, cops killed another black man and it was caught on camera.
On May 25th George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin when he knelt on Floyd's neck for over 8 minutes! On May 30th hundreds of people gathered in our city (Philadelphia) to protest the death of George Floyd. Things started peacefully. Tensions escalated as the day went on and the crowds of people marching and chanting turned into crowds of looting and trashing the city. The mayor implemented a citywide curfew. Which made us even more shut in!
June: Finally good news! In the midst of the Pandemic with peaceful protests and angry riots, these two lovely kids graduated high school! ❤️👨🏽🎓👩🏾🎓. The school put together a nice pandemic friendly graduation and something was better than nothing.
Meanwhile, the city was boarded up and shut down in the aftermath of the riots. Officer Chauvin's dirty laundry was being aired out and people discovered that he actually knew George Floyd before he murdered him. Chauvin and Floyd had worked security together at a night club and bumped heads before. On June 3, Chauvin's charges were upgraded to second-degree murder and the three other officers involved were arrested and charged with felony aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The riots settled down, but protests continued throughout the country as the police officer who shot Briana Taylor was fired, but not arrested. The other officers involved were not fired. This sparked more anger and outrage amongst the black community and our supporters. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases were rising.
Towards the end of June I took a day trip to Belmar Beach with my oldest daughter. It was a much needed break. I love the ocean.
July: Half the year had passed and 2020 was proving to be the craziest year I've ever had. 23 people were killed in one day in Philadelphia. Fire works could be heard for months after the riots, but on the 4th of July our family really lit the sky up! We had fun that night.
Everything happened after that. Everything from my youngest daughter running away, to me getting dumped, to my second daughters getting her first apartment. It was a crazy month. The best part was our road trip. In the middle of July we took a road trip across PA exploring its natural wonders.
Once again our neighborhoods were boarded up in the aftermath.
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