My 2020

POSTED BY FRANNE GOLDE · DECEMBER 30, 2020

To say that we never know what the future holds is an understatement. I’m still convinced that hope—hope that something good will happen and believing it will—is what gets us through tough times and the uncertainty of the future ahead. If I didn’t believe, have hope, faith, drive, curiosity and love, I’m not sure how I would have survived this unbelievable year.

As Stephen Hawking famously said, “Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it.” That has certainly been true for me, especially this past year. Having frannegolde.com and nurturing it has been a lifeline. Our amazing team of women has made the months easier to get through and I’m so thankful.

That said, early on, when the pandemic started, it took tremendous will to stick to a schedule, eat well, exercise and figure out new ways to carry on, to stay connected to friends and family and keep calm. Once I realized things weren’t going to change anytime soon, I got into a new rhythm. It took time, but slowly everything seemed to fall into place--a new place. It didn’t happen overnight; I took baby steps. I was scared, stressed and anxious, but kept prodding myself to get up and move forward.

My husband is still declining, and the pandemic has made things extremely difficult and heartbreaking, but he’s still here. I still can see and feel his emotions. He still tells me he loves me and responds to any and all music, human touch and his favorite foods, like lox, bagels and cream cheese with a Dr. Brown’s cream soda.

Although I haven’t gone out much this year, I’ve managed to take a walk almost every day. I have a great park close by with a lake and a duck pond, loads of hiking trails and gorgeous trees and plants. Being in nature definitely helps when I need a boost.

I started cooking more often, breakfast for dinner being one of my favorites! I started using more spices, I baked apples with cinnamon sticks, baked red potatoes and white sweet potatoes and yes, butter please! I roasted brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccolini with olive oil, salt and pepper, made all kinds of baked and broiled fishes with salads laced with parmesan and Comice pears, made omelets with anything leftover in my fridge, ate fresh baked sourdough with real butter. I could go on, but you get the picture…

I watched and re-watched loads of movies, series and documentaries, old and new. The list is far too long, but Pretty Woman, Mame, the Queen’s Gambit, The Crown, Frank Sinatra, Love Is Blind, My Octopus Teacher, Stranger Things, Dead To Me, When They See Us, A Life On Our Planet, Becoming, The Kominsky Method, to name a few. Thank God for Netflix!

And I have a newfound appreciation for the following amazing people, places and things: healthcare workers, grocery clerks, food delivery services, foodbank workers, mail carriers, UPS and FedEx drivers, people who wave and acknowledge you, Zoom, Instagram, TikTok, late night talk shows, SNL, podcasts and Audible, currently finishing Matthew McConaughey’s best seller, Greenlights!

I still love to play music in my car—my little private sanctuary—at crazy LOUD volumes and take long drives to nowhere in particular.

And of course, I spent the last year creating our Spring and Fall 2021 collections! I’m so excited to share all the fabulous clothes and accessories we have coming your way! I hope you will love them as much as I had creating and curating them. Spoiler alert…Royal Blue!!!!

I guess this is all to say that as long as there is a sliver of hope, of light, there is life and possibility. As usual my insatiable curiosity and conviction want to see how this all unfolds. Don’t you?