The past year has been physically, emotionally, and financially draining because of COVID-19.
Luckily we’re starting to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But one thing that COVID-19 showed us is that where there’s a will, there’s always a way—especially when it comes to celebrating milestones.
For instance, one of my best friends hosted his daughter’s first birthday on Zoom, and two other friends of mine held their wedding ceremonies via Zoom! And to celebrate my best friend’s 30th birthday, I made and sent a video. Of course I wanted to do more for my best friend’s milestone birthday, but my friend said the video made his day on what was otherwise a sucky birthday. His reaction helped me realize that I’m glad that I did “less.”
Now that we’re starting to return to normalcy, people will no doubt want to celebrate life events the way they couldn’t last year.
The friend I made the video for posted on social media on his recent birthday that he’s “turning 30 again” this year until he can have an official 30th birthday celebration, and lots of people also felt bad that I spent my own birthday in lockdown. But even though I understand why people want big celebrations after the difficult year we had, I think that less is more. We need to appreciate the little things instead of having blowout celebrations to make up for the milestones that we missed.
Right now, when it comes to celebrations, we want more, but we need to remember that less is more.
Milestones are about more than the gifts we buy or the events we plan – they’re about appreciating where we are in life. When we want “bigger and better” celebrations, we forget how much we truly have, which is often more than enough.
As you look back at the past year, appreciate the ways that you were able to celebrate – Zoom parties and weddings, drive-by holiday parades, and graduation videos. The fact that you’re alive to celebrate these milestones is special in and of itself, especially considering how many lives COVID-19 took from us. As we go back to living our lives in a more “normal” way, we shouldn’t forget that less is more, and appreciating the little ways we celebrate will make us much happier than wanting to “go big or go home.”
Featured Photo by Alasdair Elmes on Unsplash.
