Author’s Note: This is the second part of the recap of 2020 from my perspective and will cover the second half of this year (July-December). I highly recommend that you read that post before reading this post.

By the time we got to July, my world had been turned on its head, granted to that point the only times I got out of the house to do much of anything was to go for a walk in my neighborhood, or to go to work. The only exceptions to that point were a trip to the Columbus Zoo and to the Wilds (down south of Zanesville). A number of the events that I had been looking forward to attending had either been cancelled or were being conducted virtually. It was then I had begun to realize that I needed to do something about my health. At the end of July, I made the fateful decision to sign up for the virtual My Pelotonia 2020 event.

August brought a visit from my maternal grandfather, who came down to visit me and my sister for a couple of days early in the month. While he was here, I did a number of things that I had not done in a while, such as take some pictures and visited Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park (down south west of Columbus.) It was at that time that I had started to bike to and from my primary job, and got rolling on the My Pelotonia goals that I had set out to do. I also made an appointment to see a doctor for the first time in a decade. While all of that was positive, my mental state did not improve that much, and it reflected in my performance at work. To make matters worse, my favorite hockey team, the Blue Jackets lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.

In early September, I was thinking that things were starting to look up. I had made some huge strides towards my health and fitness goals, including a mile bike ride. However, things were not going well in other areas of my life and by the end of the month, I had finally hit rock bottom. Instead of complaining about things at work, I continued to focus on my health. It was at that time, I decided to cut spending money on lunch every day at work out of my budget. Late in the month, and in the first few days of October, I was sidelined for a few days for a stomach ailment. (For the record, I dont call off sick very often.)

After recovering from that setback, I finally made it in to the doctor’s office in mid-October, and I had a brutally honest conversation with my new doctor. The conversation revealed that my family had made a major mistake when I left pediatric care: I had stopped taking medication for the treatment of my Autism. The other mandates were to get my eyes and my back checked. By the end of the month, I had managed to get my autism back in check, I had a new pair of presciption sun glasses, and I was in treatment for an irregular curve  in my spinal column. Despite that, I was able to finish the bicycling goal for My Pelotonia.

When the calendar turned to November, thing were finally looking up for me. As I was finishing the last miles of my Pelotonia walking goal, I asked my self if I was ready to take the next step towards getting healthy. The answer was a resounding yes, and by the time Thankgiving rolled around I had completed my first run and had signed up for the Allstate Hot Chocolate 5K and the Blue Jackets Virtural 20K in January

The month of December has a pretty busy month for me, as I was working hard at my primary job, getting some exercise, and dealing with my grandmother’s health problems. Just after I ran the Allstate Hot Chocolate 5K, my mother drove my grandmother to the Emergency Room with breathing problems (thankfully it wasn’t COVID-19 related) Compared to the last time that happened, things went a whole lot better in terms of keeping my emotions in check (What a difference a year makes.) Christmas turned out to be quiet at my house, we ate dinner as a family (thank Giant Eagle), and I saw Soul and Wonder Woman 1984 from the comfort of my home.

In short, 2020 was not the best year I have had, I also realize that things could have been much worse than they were. I have learned many lessons from this year, and those will help me moving forward, as I continue to make progress on becoming a better person. The work will continue into the new year and beyond, with the hope that 2021 will truly be my best year yet.