Before another year begins I like to look back on what was before moving into what will be.
I scrolled back through the photos on my phone.
My mind flooded with memories.
And questions.
I picked a few photos from each month.
This is more of a blog for me to look back on in a few years, but I wanted to share it with you as well.

And if I may …
take some time to look back through the photos on your phone.
It’s worth it.

January - 2020:
Me: This is going to be my year
Narrator: It was in fact nobody’s year.

My year began with a speaking and poetry tour throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
20 different speaking events in 10 days.
It was cold, exhausting, and at times lonely.
But I loved it.

February 2020 - Keep it Rolling
The last month before the great unknown found us was spent with old friends and new.
Our friends, Jane and Aaron, flew in from Texas for a weekend.
We celebrated birthdays, ate our way through Nashville, and stayed up late sharing stories and sipping whiskey.
I went on an East Coast tour though Knoxville, Asheville, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Later in February we traveled to Phoenix for a conference.
I got to deliver a break-out session about Hope and Storytelling.
And it sparked an idea for a new book ….

March 2020 - What is a Coronavirus?
I didn’t know it at the time, but I had my last live speaking event of the year.
I spoke at a youth conference in Norman, Oklahoma.
A week later I would cancel the rest of my speaking engagements for the foreseeable future.

On March 10th, Justin, Adam, and I went to see the Orlando Magic play the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis.
Orlando won.
The next morning the NBA put the rest of the season on hiatus due to COVID-19.

On March 14th we picked up Pancake.
The start of quarantine began with Pancake.
The best choice we have ever made.

April 2020 - And so it begins.
I made biscuits.
I made a lot of biscuits.
Which means I ate biscuits.
I ate a lot of biscuits.

May 2020 - And so it continues.

Our friends, Matt and Jill cancelled their wedding and got married in their backyard.
We (safely) traveled to Florida to meet my nephew, Caleb.
From here on out I’d like to be referred to as Uncle Tanner.

June 2020 - And so it continues to continue.
I shaved my (nasty) quarantine beard and Pancake had a pancake.
It was a big month for all of us.

July 2020 - I Hated This Month
Here is an excerpt from an email I sent on July10, 2020:

On Monday afternoon my dad had two massive heart attacks.

He had emergency surgery and is doing much better today.

We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses.

We are so thankful for a God of all comfort and love.

We are so thankful for all your prayers and kindness.

After hearing about my dad's heart attack, I flew home to be with my family in Orlando.

I'm not sure how long I'll be in Orlando for as my dad continues to recover from what the doctor described as “a major life event.”

We hope he is able to come home on Monday, but as of right now nothing is certain.

We as that you please keep my dad in your prayers.

Due to the seriousness of COVID-19 we aren’t allowed to see my dad while he is in the hospital.

Yesterday we stood outside his hospital room and held up signs as we FaceTimed him.

We are so thankful he is still here even if we cannot be together.

2020 sure is something, isn’t it?

Through all of this we are continuing to hold hope close.

I wrote this down this morning:

right now is

what right now is

and i cannot control the way that it is

but i can change how i respond to the way that it is.

We are choosing to respond with hope.

With the hope of God's love.

With the hope of heaven.

With the hope of healing.

With the hope of peace.

I'm not sure where today finds you,

but I want to remind you to cling to the word hope.

After all, in this there is hope.

And 2020 cannot take hope from us.

August 2020 - He said forever.
We (safely) attended my best friend's wedding in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Trevor has been one of my best friends for the past 10 years.
He stood with me on my wedding day and I (socially distanced) stood with him on his.

Tan-Man and DB. Friends since summer 2009.

September 2020 - As You Go
My second book, As You Go: Words for the Unknown was released into the world!
This book was a #1 on Amazon’s New Release!
Thank you to my Patrons for making this book possible.
Thanks you James Saleska for your encouragement and incredible design.
Thank you to Justin Fricke for this photo.
Thank you for supporting this book.
By ordering this book you helped this small business survive.
Thank you.

As You Go: Words for the Unknown by Tanner Olson

October 2020 - Run the Dogs
Pancake had more fun than we did.

November 2020 -Looking Ahead
It wasn’t the most exciting month, but it wasn’t a terrible month.
I started dreaming about 2021 and what the next phase of Written to Speak will look like.
Justin and I rented out a studio in Nashville to begin working on projects for 2021.

Stand here. Don’t move. My greatest challenge.

December 2020 - The Year of Zoom
This has been the year of Zoom.
Instead of touring I started Zooming with schools and churches.
Through the past 9 months I hopped on 30+ Zoom calls with elementary, middle, and high school students. Many of them completed Poetry School.

Oh, and we took Christmas photos.

Here is to 2021.

Much love,

Tanner

12 ( ish) Photos from 2020