Looking back on 2020

Today, March 12, 2021, marks one year when the world as we knew it was no longer. We had received word that a new virus called COVID-19 was deadly and very highly transmissible. It was recommended that everyone quarantine for 2 weeks until it passed. The month of March is usually the beginning of our busiest time of the year! Almost immediately, all of the photo jobs we had scheduled on the calendar were cancelled. We worked to finish off any pending photo jobs, cut any business expenses we could and we planned to close on March 19th. On that day, I turned off the lights and I locked the door to the studio. As I turned to walk towards my car, I exhaled and thought to myself, "Well, we will see what happens." The thought briefly crossed my mind that maybe this was it...the end of my business. Could it be that something I have financially invested in so much and worked so diligently for was just going to go "poof" so quickly? Were my hopes and dreams for my business going to remain just that?...just hopes and dreams? I just wasn't sure of what was to come and honestly, I don't think anyone knew what to expect.

A couple of my children were visiting from college for Spring break and we enjoyed that first week together at home despite the pending sense of doom. One daughter decided it was best to stay home and finish off her last quarter at college online. We all did our best to keep busy as 2 weeks came and went and the COVID situation was getting worse all over the world, not better. 

I remember in April, I had a client contact me that wanted to pick up a print package we were holding for her. I told her I would meet her at the studio so I could give it to her. After she picked it up, I sat at my computer desk as I usually so often did but I just couldn't do it. My heart was sad. I missed doing what I love to do. I missed interacting with my clients. I missed being there. It was just too much...so I left. It took me four and a half months before I could spend time organizing things at the studio. 

Weeks turned into months and the summer heat set in. I really missed seeing my sisters. I set up a Zoom meeting with them and taught them how it worked. Since then, we have had a Zoom sister chat meeting every week. The only time we didn't connect over Zoom was when I was recovering from post-COVID fatigue myself. This is one thing that hopefully we can continue even past this COVID time. I also kept busy at home with painting projects, gardening, sewing, cooking and yes, even Tik Tok!

Over the summer, I formulated a plan to move my business to my home if I desperately HAD to although it's not what I wanted. I will forever be grateful to my landlord for being understanding and being flexible with us on rent. I reluctantly applied for a small business loan so funds would be there if I needed them and basically pieced together any resources I could. We got a glimpse of hope when the situation was getting better by end of September. We cautiously re-opened in October, but by the end of November, we had to once again close due to the high COVID cases in our area.

Personally, I thought I had done pretty well to remain positive and keep busy with home projects during the summer, but I could tell that this second closing, was wearing on me and my spirit...on everyones, I'm sure.

The New Year came and our hopes were for a vaccine to turn this COVID situation around. We had to hang in there just a little bit longer! The vaccine is here and things are opening up...slowly. And so here we sit, one year later in March of 2021, and Monarch Iconography Studio is still "in the game" and it is amazing to me! COVID has caused so much devastating loss around the world....loss of life, loss of income, loss of businesses and loss of social interaction, celebrations and memories...yet even so, there are still plenty of things to be thankful for. We, as a nation, as a human race, are resilient. We will look back on these challenging times and tell our COVID stories for decades. It is then when we will realize...we made it though. 

Below are SOME of what I kept busy with during the COVID-19 lockdown to keep my sanity during the past year...as told in my Snapchat stories. :)