How a Screaming Goat Perfectly Captured My 2020 Mood
Do you need a screaming goat in your life?
Every time I see the meme that says 2020 is almost as bad as my first marriage, I laugh and laugh. I’ve been through tough times before, but I look at 2020 and think what the actual fuck was that?
I found it challenging on every level. Suddenly, I was thrust into homeschooling two active small children while working from home. My income took a hit as book signings and book festivals were canceled and platforms changed their pay scale without warning. I lost a close friend — not to the pandemic but to life changes. My long-distance relationship suddenly became a hell of a lot more complicated as travel restrictions reigned supreme. Spoiler alert: it did not survive.
I became more isolated, more overwhelmed, and I watched my mental health drop off a cliff.
It’s not that there weren’t good things. I came out with an extra book this year — a volume of poetry I hadn’t planned to do any time soon. It allowed me to collaborate with an artist I admire. I made a few new friends — a totally unexpected plot twist in the year of social distancing. I read more books. I got the puppy I’ve been wanting for years. I went on social distancing adventures with my children and won a local photography contest for photos I took of…
