2020 Cliffnotes

 2020 at a glance:

We started off the year on a great note with T training harder than he ever has to get ready for the big show at US Open.  Of course before he went to that tournament he went to the AAU GA Championships and double gold medaled.  

He so loved getting double gold two years in a row at the AAU GA Championship.  Next up was US Open where he learned a lot and fought the best we've ever seen him fight on an international level.  While he didn't medal we are super proud of the advancements he made.  He also got to cheer on his teammates.  

While at Disney ESPN in Orlando we decided to have some fun and go to Sea World after US Open was over.  We had a great time having a day of fun there.  The boys rode the wild and crazy rides and I took in all the shows.  From there we went and spent some time with the grands in Ocala and then went back home.  

Once back home T got his 3rd Dan Kukkiwon Certificate.  He actually graduated to 3rd Dan in December of 2019 but the Kukkiwon comes from Korea. 

  

Then the lockdown happened and of course we all know how 2020 went from there.  It's been a crap show since then with things being shut down, businesses closing, etc...  T's training shifted from in person to all online with Zoom.  He hasn't been in front of his coach since February/March 2020.  To say it's been disappointing would be an understatement.  He has hated every moment of it.  Not being able to compete and to have hands on training because of the pandemic has truly sucked on a level that only elite athletes can truly understand.  T's been adjusting because he's had to but he hasn't liked one moment of it.  The good thing to come out of this so far for him is that it has been a big growing year for him.  By the end of January 2021 he could possibly have had a 4" growing year.  He hasn't had a growing year like that since he was a toddler.

It has been a different kind of year to say the least.  Just so he could compete on some level he did the AAU Virtual Nationals in October doing his forms.  He's a fighter and doesn't make any boasts about being great in forms at all.  If it were up to him he'd only every do fighting but in order to continue belting up he has to do the requirements and that includes forms.  Anyhow, he did his forms and won a Bronze for the AAU Virtual Nationals this year so that was a silver lining for him in this year.

During dealing with Zoom training, homeschooling, and in person and virtual tournaments we dealt with having a new roof put on the house that brought about so many issues that if you have been keeping up with all the blogs you know all we went through with getting that done.  Needless to say that we had one issue after another.  Find it on the blog to read about it.

We also had a deck to replace once we got all the roof issues taken care of.  The decking is down but the railings will get put on in the spring.  Just ran out of time to get it done with the weather changing for the colder months.  The three of us worked hard to get what we could done on the deck though and we love how good it all turned out.  

We also replaced our back door, painted our front door, and put new storm doors on the front and back doors.  

We have done our best to use our time of being at home more to our advantage and are taking care of things that need taking care of.  While the pandemic halted things in T's world it helped us deal with stuff that needed our attention.  Keeping busy has kept us not really being as frustrated as so many others have been with the pandemic and all the lockdowns and curfews and things.  

The holidays were a little different in that we chilled at home this year instead of traveling as much as we have done in years past.  While we've missed being able to spend time with our loved ones they have been at the forefront of our thoughts as we've made decisions to keep them safe during all that's been going on in our world.  Sacrificing a little time with them in order to make sure they don't get Covid has been the goal we keep before us.  We want them with us for many more years to come.  It's why we've had limited contact with anyone this year.  We want to keep ourselves safe as well as make sure we don't give anything to our loved ones.  

We are looking forward to 2021 with great expectation of things turning around and God showing up big time for us and all those we love and hold near and dear to our hearts.  We are praying that T can get back to competing and that we can return to life as normal again.  We serve a mighty God who has our best interests at heart and we know that all we've been dealing with this past year is not God's best.  Looking forward to saying goodbye to this crazy year in just a few short hours and welcoming in 2021  May 2021 be better than all we've dealt with in 2020!!!  God Bless you All!!  And Happy New Year!!!