Happy New Year and good riddance to 2020!

Meet the tree-year old who has inspired my one and only New Years’ resolution this year:

My duplex backs onto a park and skating rink. I’ve now seen this tiny guy a number of times. To a three-year old of his size, the rink must seem the size of Europe. Watching him New Years’ day for about 15-minutes, he probably fell down at least 50 times. But he always got up. Sure, sometimes he rested on the ice for a bit and sometimes dad would skate over and he could pull himself up on dads’ stick. But he always gets up.

For arguably the majority of people, the pandemic that’s now in its second calendar year, is only an inconvenience. Maybe it was working from home for a while, or still missing the routine of restaurant dinners with friends, concerts, or a hockey game.

But for millions of us, including us self-employed and their staff, other peoples’ inconvenience is our nightmare – and not just in financial ways. Sure, lots of people can (and have) file for bankruptcy – but bankruptcy does not create income! Only the return to a healthy economy creates income.

With no immediate end in sight, millions of us have to keep getting up – have to keep positive – somehow – some way – for some time to come.

What’s the definition of “getting up?” That’s different for everyone. Maybe it’s deferring one more bill. It might be cashing one more RRSP, or hoping that the Canadian Recovery Benefit will be changed for vast numbers of people who will max out in March and be cut off. Maybe it’s asking for help – one of the hardest things to do.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I know I can’t get up 50 more times. But I’m pretty sure I can get up one more time – from one more setback – from one more nightmare of a week. And maybe one more time after that if I keep the image of that little three-year old in my mind.