In January, we heard whispering of a new virus in China. I, like many others did not give much weight to this. Little did we know how different our lives would be in a few short months.

I was beginning to get excited about my May wedding. It was time to start on the finishing touches; making centerpieces and planning my bridal shower and bachelorette parties. The day that I had dreamt of my entire life was finally beginning to feel real.

In February, I went to the Dominican Republic with my cousin and had a wonderful time. I saw one person on the plane with a mask on, and thought to myself “really? It’s a virus in China, why are you worried?” Little did we know that this would be our last plane ride for a long time.

March was when- pardon my French- shit hit the fan. COVID- 19 cases started to pop up in my home province of Alberta. I began to realize that this wasn’t just some foreign disease that wouldn’t affect me. Schools closed. I had to wear a mask at work. The economy was starting to feel the hit and layoffs began. My fiancée came home with a box full of his work stuff one day which was terrifying; he quickly assured me that he would now be working from home, but did not know when he would be back in the office. I got a sore throat and was off of work. While we did not require testing due to the testing requirements at that time, we spent the required 12 days at home in self-isolation.

At the beginning of 2020, I started my Master’s degree in Nursing. In March, with about 3 weeks left to go of my online course, I got a shocking email. The University had made the decision to stop classes, even online classes. My heart dropped. I was halfway through writing a term paper I worked extremely hard on. Thankfully I was given credit for the course, but all my hard work felt like it was for nothing. This was the first time that I really felt affected by the pandemic.

As March faded into April, our wedding was forefront of mind for my fiancee and I. We toyed with the ideas of postponing the wedding to an unknown date or just having a small ceremony on May 30, our original date. This caused a fair bit of stress for us. Of course we wanted to get married as soon as we could, but we also realized the importance of keeping everyone safe. When I look back at this time, I feel a pit in my stomach as I relive the stress and anxiety I was feeling at that time.

Eventually we chose to postpone our wedding to October 10, 2020. I told my fiancee that we still needed to make our original wedding date special. We did just that and had a small immediate family gathering at our home. My fiancee smoked a delicious prime rib and we were blessed with gorgeous weather. We wrote vows and read them to one another. The day was bittersweet, but it also reminded us of the love around us and that with our families support, we would make it through.

June, July and August all seemed to melt into one. I had my bridal shower in August which again was met with stress. This would be the first large gathering that I would be hosting (well, my Mom would be hosting, but you get my point). I was worried if people would be comfortable which weighed heavily on me. The day ended up being beautiful and once again, I was surrounded by love.

It was also on this day that our family experienced the unexpected loss of my Grandmother. This woman was so special to me. She showed me the importance of keeping cultural traditions alive along with the importance of faith in ones life. I will be wearing her wedding headpiece on my wedding day, which she was so happy about. I think of her everyday.

That all brings us to today, September 2, 2020. Kids are back in school, albeit a very different school. Masks are commonplace; I joked with my family recently that mask fashion has even become a thing. Social distancing and seeing spots on the ground where to stand are nothing new. I will be starting my online classes again for my Master’s degree. The final details of our wedding are falling into place and my fiancee and I have decided that we are getting married on October 10, no matter what.

In every hardship I have experienced this year from wedding stress, to self-isolation and the loss of my Grandmother, one thing has prevailed and that has been love. I have felt love and support from the people around me in every instance. I have seen so much good in this world. My fiancee held me and spoke soothingly while I had a panic attack from the stress of the wedding. My friends have been there for me; either being the kick in the butt when I needed it, or just someone to let me vent to. My parents and future parents-in-law have been incredible supports too.

While we have no idea what these next 4 months of 2020 may hold, I hope that we don’t let our worries of COVID-19 takeover. We have so much in this life to be grateful for and so many other happy things to think about. I’ll be marrying the man of my dreams next month. I landed a permanent position working at a hospital that has become my second home. While my circle may be small, I have realized just how important those who are in it are.

Everyone has been touched someway by COVID 19 along with the other tragedies that have taken place this year (police shootings, Australia wildfires, Fort McMurray floods, etc). While I do not want to make light of any experience that anyone may has felt this year, perhaps we needed this difficult year to truly realize all the good we have around us. Because when you think about it, there really is lots of good in this world.