Post something *good* that happened to you in 2020!

3 kitties came into my life after 20+ years of not having pets. A pregnant mama cat someone dumped near my house. Eventually she and 2 kittens ended up at my house and little by little they worked their ways into my heart and my house. And now they're all safe on the inside.

I realized I was no longer in love with my partner, finally admitting it to myself. I made a concrete timeline and will move on in April. The feeling of finally admitting it to myself was huge.

Thanks to social distancing, there are no restaurants, no parties, no barbecues, no picnics, no opportunities for recreational eating. And I lost 50 pounds with only a little effort. It's clear now how risky those kinds of setting are if weight is a problem.

Holidays are always a very stressful time for me because of ongoing conflicts in my family. What a relief to have a good excuse to avoid any family gatherings.

Congrats to Rs 1, 2 and 3!

And glad you're having a stress-free season, R4!

I bought a washlet for my toilet! Best purchase of 2020

travel for work, until Covid. I'm much less employed but much more relaxed now.

i have spent some quality time with friends who also travel and don't know.

I save over 2 hours a day in commuting time. I also saved soap, water, and clothing costs

OP, I love this thread and the positivity! So here's some good things that happened to me this year...

-My ex moved out January 17th, exactly two months before things shut down in our town. I adopted an older cat the same day he moved out. (He would never let me have a cat.)

-I got to not only catch up on a lot when I wasn't working, but I also reconnected with my parents and siblings (via phone) in a way I've not felt connected to them in years. Simply having the time to talk and hear what's going on with them without time constraints (and vice versa) has been a godsend.

-I was a offered a temp job with my same company...one that entailed being outside 7 hours a day. Many people I worked with wouldn't take it, but I love the sun and got a great tan. I also met some really cool, new coworkers whom I've bonded with.

-I found a new place to live after my former landlord sold the condo I was renting. Sadly, I had to give up the cat I'd only had about 7 months, but she's in a great, new home and her new owner texts me updates on her. My new place has six pools, tennis courts, and plenty of walking paths. So it's gotten me out of my shell and I've enjoyed all the access to the outdoors.

-Finally, my place of employment reopened on 9/30 and I got called back to work. I'm a person who needs routine--and also needs to get out of the house. I've been very grateful to be back at my job. While it's not the same, nothing is the same for anyone these days. We are all coping the best we can.

Sorry for the long post, but I've been challenging myself to see the good in everything these days. We all have a choice on how we view/react to what's happening to us. Sure, we could bitch and complain. But we can also see the silver linings and enjoy the ride.

My ex and I are no longer together. It feels great!

i recovered my potency after radiation treatment for prostate cancer and can give my sweet guy all the pleasure he deserves when he rides my stiff cock.

When the market tanked in March, I thought that all the selling was probably an overreaction, so I took some spare cash and put it in some growth stocks. I've basically doubled that money.

I'm not going to sell until next March to avoid the short-term capital gains, so I hope Biden doesn't wreck the economy.

I met a guy a month before lockdown and we started dating over facetime when we were sheltering in place. Our conversations were deep and we got to know each other very fast, just not in person. We finally decided to do socially distanced picnic dates in the park in the summer and by fall we were staying over at each other's places. It's been challenging because he's an essential worker, but all in all 2020 has been a wonderful year. I took my time and found love.

With all of the social restrictions in place, I wasn't able to participate in two hobby groups as I normally would.

This made me realize that one was just a giant time suck with very little reward and the other was a giant money suck with little reward so I decided to ditch them both.

My job was also moved to telework. This is after years of telling us the company couldn't feasibly do this due to "reasons". As soon as the pandemic hit and they started hearing from irate customers, they suddenly found a way to get us all teleworking.

Now I no longer have to deal with motherfucking goddamned traffic and it is wonderful! I've asked to be put on perm telework so we'll see what happens.

Thanks for the thread, OP.

I got fired late last year from a job that I had only had for a few months. I was terrified at the time and for the next few months continuously was not selected for the jobs that I was interviewed for because of the firing.

And all that turned out to be an incredible blessing that I would not realize right away. 4 weeks before everything shut down I was hired at a place that I initially really liked and have wound up really loving.

Further, when everything shut down I probably would have been let go from the original job anyway and most of the jobs I was not hired for were let go /phased out during shut down.

I have always dreamed of working from home and about a week before I was hired for this job I had purchased everything I needed to work from home with the plan to try that while I continued looking for a job. I was all set when covid hit.

I save 2 hours a day in the winter from commuting.

I am very fortunate and make sure to not forget that every day.

These are all great! Thanks to everyone for sharing, and congrats to all of you on the good things -- major, minor and all points in between -- you experienced (and continue to experience) in 2020.

Keep 'em coming! :-)

We are healthy. That's huge anytime but even more so this year.

The new windows, doors and insulation I had put in last year have dropped the heating and a/c bills a lot.

The pandemic has been a godsend allowing me to minimize (by and large eliminate, actually) contact with unpleasant neighbors: "Sorry, can't talk - I don't have my mask" which is my new, kinder and gentler way of saying "Fuck off."

My net worth has increased $100,000–solely from saving and investing. I used to be pretty bad about spending money on restaurants and trips, so the pandemic has helped me realize it’s important to have money tucked away just in case...

I've perfected making Parker House rolls.

I learned some new household repairs.

I got married!

I've been paid for shit-tons of overtime!

We had to replace our stove and I LOVE the new one.

I got a raise

Circumstances at work made it so suddenly I worked with my longtime crush every night. I was finally able to get over it after becoming friends and realizing there was nothing there.

I also moved out of a bed bug house and away from some terrible roommates so score. And I reconnected with my mom after ten years of silence. It was actually a great year for me, better than 2019. Sorry, I know that's a terrible thing to say considering how much loss others have dealt with in 2020. Hope it's better for DL in 2021.

I retired. Two months of working at home convinced me it was time to walk away.

With all the bars closed, I stopped drinking. Realize it had become a routine on the weekends and it’s effect on Monday morning blues. Though looking forward to them reopening, it’s been a good time off for physical and mental health - and for perspective and self-assessment.

I haven't died yet.

I voted for Joe Biden and he WON.

R12 any tips on how to find growth stocks?

R19, I made those for the first time this year! Haven't mastered getting them all to be of equal size, but they were buttery and delicious.

R25, I'm terrified of bed bugs, so good for you for getting out... and (I assume) *not* taking any "hitchhikers" with you.

I live where I can walk and be distanced, and I lost 35 pounds.

We're healthy.

I have more money (I'm retired). I've been able to give my stimulus money to service workers and charities.

Many of my friends still in NYC got COVID, but none required hospitalization.

Biden won.

My partner and I have decided to get married.

I realized I have to get my drinking under control or give it up and I am working on it (it's not easy).

I got a big raise and huge bonus.

I sold a creative work.

I made the decision to move to be closer to those that are important in my life.

many bad things happened but I am grateful for the good.

The connections in my long-distance realtionship became more frequent, deeper and took it to a higher level. I saved much more money. It was easier to find a good accomodation with a very reasonable rent in a city known for its exorbitant rents and tiny tiny spaces.

I rediscovered my love of cooking, perfected my favorite cocktail recipes, and still managed to lose 45 lbs. (6'2"; now back to a comfortable190 lbs ).

No dry cleaning bills to pay the shy (husband) and surly (wife) Koreans!

My story sounds like it could be depressing. I couldn't get work once covid happened, ran through a chunk of my savings, had to move from the big city back to my smaller city/rural hometown. Except all these things have been really positive because they have given me what I didn't know I needed. Big city life wasn't for me, I was in a mentally abusive relationship, I was in danger of growing up without getting to know my nephews, and never really being successful because I was chasing something I thought I should have rather than truly wanted.

But what I want, I realised, is to be surrounded by family and old friends, in an environment I love (I was born in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, why did it take me so long to realise that?). My old job heard I was back in town and immediately offered to take me back and I start very soon. And I'm so excited for it all. I want the things I always thought I didn't because I was "different" (obnoxious know it all 20-something more like). I want actually buy a small place to live now. I may even want to settle down properly if I find a nice guy but I'm not even worried about that. Something has clicked and I am actually excited about life again. 6 months ago I was kinda wishing I would fall asleep and never wake up.

I'm not the bitter, angry 20-something I was anymore when I left. And I've only been gone 5 years but what a difference. So, out of bad things sometimes can come really great things.

My maidenhead is still intact thankfully

I started microdosing mushrooms and feel emotionally/mentally better than I have in a decade.

I found out that I can spend 24/7 with my husband for 9 months and still love him.

[quote] I sold a creative work.

R34, what did you sell?

R30, growth stocks are always risky, but you could do worse than a nice Vanguard Index fund.

I've lost a lot of weight but couldn't tell you how much since I threw away my scale. That was a HUGE moment for me as I realized how much I define myself by the numbers on the scale. I still struggle with the addiction to weighing myself every single day but it's getting easier. I know I have gone down two sizes in pants so I'm doing something right.

I got back into riding my bike since it gets me out of the house.

I paid off all my debt and am currently saving up as much money as I can so I can move in the new year.

I find I'm prioritizing my sleep over my work and I've never felt healthier. I also realized that working 40 hrs + is not a healthy situation for anyone and that the 40 hour work week is a joke. The point of life is not to be productive for someone else. I also have weird moments where I'm realizing that all of this seems like a dream and how silly the current way we operate as a society is. I think I'm having a weird mid-life crisis, but it's not all bad. It's nice waking up from the Matrix.

My syphilis cleared up.

tRump was dumped!

Finally got my bachelor's degree...after starting it 19 years ago. Too bad it's a B.A. in the social sciences, but - it's a start! Lol!

i'm becoming a really good cook

I made 30k buying and then selling my Tesla stock.

Bought a house I love with a pool, barn and stables on 2.6 acres -- and, even better, got away from the all time most toxic Gay Cunt neighbor I have ever met at my old place. Life is bliss now. Stay safe, everyone, and hopefully there is light at end of the tunnel.

(And stay away from any condo or hands-on HOA if you can. I sure will).

My brother and I reconnected after many years of a sort of estrangement - not ugly in any way. We love each other vey much but there were issues with his wife. I'll say no more about it. He called one Sunday just before lockdown and after chatting he asked if he could come for a visit that afternoon so we ended up having a lovely long visit and shared family mementos & photos. We continued regular communications via phone and emails all through lockdown and this past Saturday he visited bringing presents. We socially distanced pretty well with masks and staying 6 feet apart - we used the condo community room which is set up for socially distanced visiting. We only broke social distance a few times for brief moments so I have been taking my temperature just in case. He does go to work every day unlike me who can work from home.

I couldn't have been happier that we are at this place in our lives. So for this reason alone it was been a wonderful year for me.

I retired early in the year, just in time to not be able to take trips or really go anywhere. The good part is I'm enjoying retirement so much more than I expected to, even without being able to travel, etc. I wish I had done it sooner.

Nothing too fabulous or noteworthy, but...well it felt important and good to me, anyway--I think I learned that I'm a far stronger and more resourceful person that I'd ever imagined myself to have been before all this past year's pandemic mess went down.

Apologies, forgot to add that another "good" outcome out of crazy 2020 was that I reconnected with two longtime friends who along with me had pretty much been caught up in our respectively busy separate lives over the last several years. We've all been dealing with Covid-related caregiving, financial, and/or emotional issues and, in supporting one another, talked and laughed and listened and valued each other more in these past many months again than in up to almost 30 years prior, it seemed.

$600 a week pandemic unemployment. I got a huge windfall and am very grateful!

I visited Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand in January before COVID-19 hit. I want to go back to Vietnam next Christmas.

Quit smoking.

Learning to be grateful and appreciate the small things.

I learned I didn't have to rush around in order to enjoy things. Not being able to go to parks that closed made me realize my neighborhood is nice.

I got my asshole redone

That’s cool R38. Where were you born?

My post-colonoscopy biopsies were negative. Three years until the next awful prep!

On my 71st birthday at my local casino I hit a slot bonus spin for $4,300.

I participated in the Pfizer/BioNTech clinical trial. It's been uplifting to be a (very small) part of what has been up to now a vaccine success story. It turned out that I got placebo, but that's okay. I got the first shot of the real thing a few days ago.

r62 congratulations on your negative biopsies. I have an MRI next month (I put it off until 2021, because 2020...) and if negative, I'll have been in remission for colorectal and renal cancer for two years.

Thank you and bless you, r64.

I celebrated 30 years clean and sober.

As of December, 1 year, no betting.

The first bet-free 24 hours, you're a recovering compulsive gambler, but achieving a full year somehow makes it seem official.

What a nice thread, thx OP.

I celebrated 25 years with my beloved. We've hit rough patches, like any relationship, but the vast majority of the time together has been a delight. He's my best friend and we have better sex than ever. We're both healthy and happy and have supportive families and neighbors and a wonderful lumpy old rescue dog.

"As of December, 1 year, no betting. The first bet-free 24 hours, you're a recovering compulsive gambler, but achieving a full year somehow makes it seem official."

Bet me that you can't do it again next year.

Diagnosed with cancer (in 3 organs) but consistently been kicking its ass. Newfound appreciation for just being alive.

This was all yesterday:

I got a raise, a job offer and found out that returning to in person work has been put on hold indefinitely.

Thank you for your encouragement, r69.

A Peaceful New Year to you.

Congratulations, r66!

Zoom has brought old friends in different places back into my life, mostly through AA meetings. I'm so grateful to have these meetings to go to. I think I would be very lonely otherwise. I'm still sad a lot of the time, and I have headaches courtesy of a new next-door neighbor who smokes cigarettes, but there have been positives in 2020.

I had my first hands-free orgasm!

I started a home reno in January this year (I had to because my eave linings and facia boards were falling off). Right through the worst of Covid it gave me a project and no time to stress. Now I've got the house the way I want it and great shoulders from all the ceilings I painted.

I'm an essential worker, so Covid had little effect on my daily routines.

I crossed over the retirement line this year. I like my job but if anything happens I've got enough to leave the workforce and never look back and that is a great feeling.

It's so wonderful to read about everyone's (wildly diverse) good things.

Keep 'em coming! :-)

R69 is a jerk!

Did you use Bluetooth R75?

It took a pandemic, but I finally quit smoking.

I had my last cigarette the morning of March 10th.

I met my current boyfriend on a dating app. We had several socially distanced dates in the fall, but haven’t had our first kiss. I can’t wait.

In lockdown, I watched "Call Me by Your Name" for the first time.

So, obviously a lot of things have been horrible this year, but definitely a several highlights!

1.) I got a job and immediately lost it because of COVID, but that opened the door for me to enroll in grad school (something I had wanted to do for a while)

2.) After enrolling in grad school, I was offered a full assistantship (apparently the department won a government grant and was desperately looking for someone anyway).

3.) I finished my first semester of classes, completed what amounts to two semesters of my assistantship project in one semester, and had a great time in the class I assisted with.

Although I’ve already posted about this, COVID and these uncertain times made my partner and me focus on what REALLY MATTERS in this life. Here is the result, and I’ve (still) never been happier:

Congratulations R84

I moved away from Texas permanently. Buh-bye!

I paid off about $15K worth of debt.

I became much more skilled at doing the NYT daily crossword and thank the gods for the NYT Crossword App.

1) no one close to me is sick, and my partner, who was at first, is well now.

2) Biden won the election so at least someone will be paying attention to the pandemic.

3) I went to Sri Lanka before the everything fell apart and had a great time.

4) still have a job

5) paid off all my debt, even the house is paid for.

6) started microdosing mushrooms to good effect.

It has been hard but definitely could have been much worse, and I am grateful. 😊

Went to Paris just before the virus got there; lost 60 pounds; spent more time taking pictures, which I thoroughly enjoy; and upgraded my camera equipment in a big way. And I used to have 10-12 drinks per week, now have 1-2 per month.

After having COVID-19 in January including being on a ventilator on my own in a hospital in Japan and not speaking the language (thank you Google Translate), medevaced home to be laid off from my new job in February then hospitalised for ten days with bilateral plural embolisms it was good news in November that I didn’t, as suspected, have carcinoma of the lungs, so wasn’t going to die just now. Just a recessive gene called Factor V Leiden which causes excessive clotting.

It’s summer, the beach is across the road and I made it through to the end of a truly shitty year. And it’s New Years Eve. Just been for my last swim of the year.

That’s something good about 2020.

I quit Facebook and Instagram.

Snap R92, me too! Am so happy about it, don't miss them at all. The only thing I worried about was that friends would be less likely to get in touch because Facebook is easier. Not a problem, everyone texts me now. I feel so much happier not seeing the negativity of Facebook or the self-obsession all over Instagram.

Now working from home most of the time, and loving it. Have done a big clean out at home, and emptied out our storage unit, saving as couple of hundred a month in storage costs. Got a bunch of projects done around home while we were in lockdown. And nobody close to me has been sick with it. And saved a bunch not commuting, so all in all not a bad year at all as far as I'm concerned

Got rid of a couple of frenemies and moved on from a toxic relationship.

Again, so great to read about everyone's diverse experiences. May the good things -- big and small, serious or silly -- multiply in 2021!

Thank you to everyone who's posted in this thread so far. :-) Keep 'em coming!

A bump for New Year's Day, to (hopefully) get 2021 off to a positive start.

Saved some money in 2020