2021 has been a year rediscovering so much of what we lost in 2020.

Things we took for granted before March 2020 I have met with new enthusiasm over the last seven months since people my age were first eligible for the vaccine.

I’m blessed to have an amazing wife, two special girls, and countless friends and family members, something that became even more obvious when I tested positive for COVID-19 and had to spend last Christmas tucked away in my bedroom. I’m thankful for the businesses, news sources, and other individuals I have come to know over my seven-plus years on the job here for their trust and for their friendship as we navigate the challenges the pandemic continues to throw at us.

However, it is the things I never thought I would have to worry about missing that I am exceptionally thankful for this year. I never thought I’d get emotional walking into Lambeau Field, Ryan Field, or Wrigley Field this fall after going there dozens of times before, only to be locked out for over 18 months. June marked my first in-person marathon since October 2019, something I do multiple times a year otherwise. I loved seeing kids show animals and projects at the county fairs in Luxemburg and Sturgeon Bay for the first time since July 2019, even if I do not completely understand what I’m looking at.

I, like many, probably thought that as sure as God made green apples that we would be able to do those types of activities for as long as we were still alive, willing, and able. It was not until the last 18 months or so that we realized how wrong we were and how much we’d miss those things until they were taken from us, no matter if it was right or wrong or how temporary it may have been. There is a lot of beauty in ordinary things, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to rediscover many of those things again.