Tag: positive

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 1.3 million people around the world. Millions more have lost their jobs and governments have offered uneven support. In the United States, an account of race and discrimination took to the streets during the summer, and its effects spilled over into the fall. The country’s presidential election resulted in a record turnout, but led to debate on the very essence of the democratic process.

Yet even in this gloomy year there have been times of lightness, growth, and utter joy.

We’ve asked readers to send us photos and videos that capture the positive moments of this pandemic year. We’ve received over 750 submissions from around the world – from China to Australia, Mexico to Italy and across the United States.

You have shown us joyful marriages and emotional births, the wonder of nature and the quiet grace of solitude. You shared a tearful reunion with grandparents and the tenderness that comes with great loss. Above all, the submissions showed an appreciation for the experiences and connections that give meaning to life.

The following is a selection of these snapshots. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Michele Janezic, Queens

A moment of comfort

My 98-year-old grandmother, Sophie Janezic, survived Covid after catching it in the spring. She lives in a nursing home in the Rockaways, and during much of the pandemic we could only see her through a window. In October, we were finally allowed to sit inside with her and hold her hand. Her memory fades, but she was there. It warms my heart that during such a confusing and difficult time we shared this much needed moment of comfort together.

Katherine Smith, Arlington, Virginia.

We will even remember the birds

We had planned for our wedding to be a big party in Colorado in May 2020, but decided to cancel it by the third week of March. Yet after five years together, we didn’t want to wait to get married. On June 5th, we celebrated our wedding with just three witnesses at the Sakura Park lookout in Manhattan. Our friends and family from all over the world have joined Zoom. Nothing about our wedding was what we had planned or expected, but I wouldn’t trade a moment. Even the birds that were very audible when the Zoom family was called will be remembered for years to come!

Joanna Templeton, Northport, New York

Pizza with a side of hand sanitizer

When Brooklyn restaurants closed during New York City’s worst lockdown times, my son, Paul Templeton, and his girlfriend, Julie Rossi, opened their Bed-Stuy brownstone kitchen window and served up pizza. home to friends. The town was running out of yeast, so they learned how to bake leaven to rise the dough. This May photo gives me a burst of joy. The darkness inside their tiny apartment, where they’ve been quarantined, is broken by the open window and the smiles. The hand sanitizer served with the pizza is a perfect summation of New York City during the pandemic – joy survives.

Tom Tenenbaum, Parker, Colorado.

A break for tag

In August, I photographed our 4 year old nephew Easton Taylor playing an enthusiastic game of tag. Released for a brief period from the containment of the pandemic that he couldn’t begin to understand, this little boy comes across as an affirmation and a celebration of the goodness in our lives. Thinking about this moment makes me smile and reminds me of the joy still present in the world in these difficult times.

Kathleen Yeager, Kingston, New York

Performances on the porch

During the pandemic, my friends and I formed a local singing and string group – Ulster’s Third Draft. For practice sessions like this, we meet on each other’s porches with our neighbors as the audience. I am grateful to make music and memories in a vibrant and creative community. The pandemic has given me the freedom and discipline to immerse myself in the study of voice and the ukulele. I cherish the friendships forged and deepened while making music.

Riv Begun, Zurich

The best birthday

During Covid, we got stuck with my in-laws in Mexico City. We came for a wedding before the virus spread and our flights were canceled the day after the wedding. We spent the next six months living in their home in Mexico City. Here, my husband pushes me into my birthday cake for a bite to eat as we try to celebrate in uncertain times. Looking back now, I am grateful to have married into such a wonderful family. Usually around my birthday I have a big party at my house with all of our friends. I spend all day cooking and am devastated when everyone arrives. This year has been tough for everyone, but the birthday I shared with my husband and his parents was one of the best I have had.

Ronald Crooks, Saint-Louis

Find us in the parking lot

For several years my husband and I have enjoyed a weekly lunch with one of our best friends. In 2020, we had to find a workaround to be able to carry on this tradition. Our solution was to park (sometimes illegally) with the back ends of our cars facing each other and have lunch at a local restaurant. Responsibly distant from each other, we have had lunch like this almost every week from April to the present day. Not being able to be with the people we love has perhaps been the most upsetting aspect of the pandemic for my husband and I. In this way, we were able to continue to maintain meaningful personal contacts and even support local restaurants in difficulty at the same time.

Audrey Zhang, Ambler, PA.

Join us on the land side

On March 14, the governor of Pennsylvania announced that the state would pass a shelter-in-place order to combat the spread of the coronavirus. It was also the day my husband and I found out we were expecting our first child. The positive side of Covid was that I was able to work from home throughout my pregnancy. But there were also many drawbacks. My husband was unable to accompany me to a single prenatal visit or an ultrasound. I had to wear a mask during my delivery and my parents were not allowed to visit me in the hospital. On November 25, Aurelia joined us on the land side and this is the best thing that has happened in 2020.

Jessica Breadsell, Perth, Australia

To become a doctor

After four and a half years of doctoral studies – and almost 11 years in college in total – I got my doctorate. in Sustainability from Curtin University in Australia. My mom and step dad watched the ceremony live from Houston as they couldn’t travel to be here. Looking back on that moment, I’m proud to have been able to learn so much from my experience. I thank my family, friends and colleagues for supporting me throughout my studies. It is bittersweet that some of my family couldn’t survive, but I am grateful that they are healthy and safe.

Alexandra Guido, Collingswood, NJ

Create generational links

My sister Juliana lives three hours away from me. When I had my daughter two years ago, I was worried that she would know and love my sister the way I wanted. During quarantine, Juliana was able to come and stay with us for two weeks at a time. I feel so blessed that she and my daughter were able to spend this time together, like this moment when Juliana shared her love of baking with Charlotte. I love the bond they were able to forge during this pandemic. This is truly one of our highlights of 2020.

Courtney LG Dowell, Charleston, W.VA.

A healing garden

My family lost my brother, Adam Blake Gale, this year. We still haven’t been able to organize a ceremony because we are all trying to keep ourselves well. My sister and I wanted to be safe, but we desperately needed to be together to cry. So we started a garden. He provided both the reason and the product. Sometimes you just need to take a hoe and bitch at the dirt to heal.

Johanne Mercier, Bayside, California.

A pub in the front yard

My husband and I decided to buy a picnic table so we could imagine we were sitting outside in our favorite pub. On our first night enjoying it in October, we lit a fire in the fireplace and said “hello” to our neighbors as they went on their evening stroll. Looking back, I feel grateful for my kind and hilarious husband. It also reminds me that we got to know our neighbors a little better. The pandemic made our world a little smaller, but it wasn’t all bad.

Amber Floyd Lee, Johnson City, Tenn.

Discover incredible beauty

This year, we’ve explored the outdoors more. This image is from Lake Wilbur in Tennessee in August. Although it is less than 30 minutes from the house I have lived in for 11 years, I had never been there before. We stayed close to home, but every week was a new adventure. We saw eagles through binoculars. I learned to fly fishing. We canoeed as a family. We hiked. We swam in waterfalls. We have grown a garden. We cooked on a fire. We harvested vegetables and arranged bouquets of flowers. We huddled under blankets and watched the sun go down. We observed the night sky for planets and shooting stars. We have discovered incredible beauty in the things 2020 has enabled us to do.

Caroline Waisberg, Henderson, Nev.

Embrace serendipity

My son Benjamin had been begging for a cat for a while, but we had busy lives and were barely home during the week before the pandemic. In April, online school was not going well for us – my son was restless and bored, my daughter was unhappy. We embraced the moment and, by chance, we got in touch with a person who was feeding a mother and her kittens. Instead of one, we had two kittens, and our two children were thrilled! That moment in May, when we saw how happy kittens made our son, made us feel like things were back to normal.

Abe Forman-Greenwald, Los Angeles

A virtual first on the red carpet

“I Will Make You Mine,” a movie by my wife, Lynn Chen, was due to premiere at South by Southwest in March, but we ended up watching it with neighbors and friends across from our house. I put on a “virtual red carpet” with clips of friends and family wishing her good luck from their home as if they were all gathered for her premiere, but in sweatpants instead of formal wear. It was not what we were hoping for, but I’m glad we got to do something special due to the disappointment of losing a festival premiere. I can’t wait to hit theaters again in 2021, and I have high hopes that the announced death of cinema will prove to be false. And I can’t wait to invite friends to the movie’s theatrical premiere next year.