The wrong question to ask in 2020: ‘What could possibly go wrong?’

Olivia Beth Gochnour and her family. | Olivia Beth Gochnour

Editor’s note: This tumultuous year has been difficult for families, but especially so for moms who may have found themselves homeschooling children while managing work and family commitments. The Deseret News asked mothers to share what they learned from 2020 and how they plan to take on the challenges of 2021.

I had high hopes for 2020. We had recently moved into our first home, I was pregnant with my second baby, and we felt like there was lots of opportunity on the horizon. What could possibly go wrong?

On March 4, at 12:30 PM, I checked into the hospital for my induction. After a couple quick pushes at 5:04 p.m., my sweet baby boy made his debut into this world weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces. I’ll never forget my husband yelling “It’s a boy!,” and as I looked down, I was more shocked at the size of the baby than the actual gender. In recovery, I had about 30 visitors come visit us in the hospital during our stay, and as far as I could tell, this was the happiest I had ever felt. I had a healthy 22-month-old baby girl and a new healthy baby boy. What could possibly go wrong?

Olivia Beth Gochnour

Olivia Beth Gochnour with her new baby boy.

Fast forward one week later, and COVID-19 was officially in the U.S. The world shut down within hours. Suddenly, I had a 1-week-old baby in my arms and I was feeling anxious that I didn’t have enough toilet paper, and that my food storage supply consisted of peanut butter and one packet of instant mashed potatoes. What else could possibly go wrong?

Now, for fun, let’s fast forward one more week. I now had a 2-week-old baby in my arms, and while feeding him in bed at 7:09 a.m., we were hit with a 5.7-magnitude earthquake. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so scared in my entire life. I remember yelling at my husband to go grab the kids while I quickly googled safety protocols for earthquakes. How could anything else possibly go wrong?! Oh, let me tell you! Aftershocks that lasted weeks (feeling more like months)!

Now let’s fast forward to today. I now have a 9-month-old baby boy (more so on my hips, than my arms) and I’m reflecting on a year that I believe truly shaped me into who I am. This year forced me to pivot and grow when all seemed to go wrong at every turn. Without the hardships that 2020 brought, I wouldn’t have completely appreciated the beauty that comes from any ordinary day.

I may not know what more could possibly go wrong — but I can tell you what could possibly go right.

This year I’ve learned to:

• Never take my health or my loved ones for granted.
• Recognize the everyday heroes around me.
• Educate myself more on important topics.
• Value my time spent outdoors.
• Serve my neighbor.
• And view life through the eyes of a child … fresh in this big, scary world, yet filled with optimism and hope.

And for that, I’ll be forever grateful for 2020.

Olivia Beth Gochnour is the author of the blog Willivia.

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