It has been 280 days since my community has been under COVID related orders. The orders have shifted, the regulations have changed. Somehow, the entire time, it has felt like some form of quarantine. Whether I’m able to only see my partner, the one who lives with me. Or maybe I can grow my germ pod to up to ten people. Either way, I am restricted. My movements feel watched. And yet, I am okay. I am safe. I am healthy.

Through the last 280 days, I have learned one thing, above all else. Rest is Revolution. In 2020, rest has become my priority. Separating work and life. Focusing less on the mediocre idea of progress and productivity and actually putting my efforts and passions into what I do. It feels right. It feels real. My work is something for me to be proud of. It isn’t just for a paycheck. It isn’t to show that I’m using my paid hours productively. It’s to show that I am worthy of this title that I hold. It is to show that the work I say I do, I actually do. The changes I wish to make, I am making.

As 2020 comes to an end, my work has slowed. Sending in my last timesheets for the year, my last reports. I find myself looking forward to actual time off, time where I don’t have to hear my phone pinging me with emails unread, needing to be answered. I’m looking forward to time where I don’t have to log into zoom for hours at a time. I’m looking forward to the quiet, small holidays that I will be spending at home. No flights, no guest rooms, no living out of suitcases. As much as I miss travel, I am looking forward to this rest. This real, rooted, rest.

I hope you find rest this holiday season. See you in 2021!