4 Reasons why 2020 was good.

In my eyes, it could have been worse.

Yours truly could have been on the right.

Everyone and their mother-in-law have stated that 2020 was the worst and could not wait for 2021. I’m not going to rehash what was so bad. I’m pretty sure everyone knows. For those of you who do not know, I am an avid golfer. I equate golf to life. There will be some holes that are great and some that will be disastrous. For the non-golfers, if it takes you 10 strokes to get the ball in the hole when the par (# of strokes recommended) is 3, the key for the remainder of the round is to learn what you did wrong and persevere.

To come out of this pandemic physically and emotionally healthy will be paramount. I feel very strongly that I have to be optimistic. I can be cautious, having learned from 2020, but my daily outlook has to be positive as I move on. Here are 4 events in 2020 that I am thankful and

REASON 1 — MONTREÁL

January 1, 2020 — Mrs. P and I, ice skating at the port in Old Montreál.

My wife and I have a tradition of spending New Year’s Eve in Montreál. We LOVE this city. All of our troubles go away once we arrive and we can never get enough. We come up twice a year and make it a point on New Year’s Eve to ice skate under the fireworks at the Old Port. Who knew that 2 months after this, we were going to experience a living hell?

REASON 2 — MY MOM

(L to R) My wife Danielle, yours truly, my Mom, and Charly

I am extremely close with my Mom. Starting in September 2018 in a 10-month span, she lost her Mom and unexpectedly my Dad. She was not able to go back to the Philippines where my grandmother passed after 94 blessed years on Earth because she was attending my wedding in Montreál. My Dad’s passing rocked her world. When a loved one decides to exit stage left and they had many more years to live, it makes life excruciating. Now it’s just her and Charly (beloved Yorkie) in the house. My brother and I live 6 hours away and there’s always concern about her well-being. She has a great support system where she lives, but now with Covid, that has thrown a wrench into things. Thank God she is healthy and living a very good life.

REASON 3 — MY FIRST GOLF TOURNAMENT

If only Round 2 looked as good.

I played in my first golf tournament in July…by myself that is. All these years I only had played in tournaments that were a team format. This was a 2-day outing and at stake was the club championship. Prestige and a parking space with your name were on the line. With Covid rearing its ugly head, golf was on hold in the prior months and therefore practice was scarce. Everyone was in the same boat. No excuses. In the first round, I shot a one-under (71) for solo 3rd. I trailed the leader by 2 strokes going into the final round. Let’s just leave it at that. I was extremely happy. Elated is more like it because I knew I could give it a great run the next day. I ended up shooting +12 (83) and finished solo 8th! Time to bear down and work hard for the 2021 Championship.

REASON 4 — I’M ALIVE

Enjoying my favorite Orange Sherbet at Holstein’s in Bloomfield, NJ.

I am grateful to God that I was able to wake up 365 times. If I failed to do so, you wouldn’t be reading any of this. This virus does not care whatsoever if you are perfectly healthy or have existing ailments. It doesn’t care about your sex, race, or religion. Even if it is not Covid, it could be cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, etc. I just am grateful I made it safe for my 49th trip around the sun. Be safe.

Grazie,

Froi