Bill Gates may have seen it coming, but 2020 was a curveball for most. Sincere condolences to everyone who lost loved ones to Covid. Countless small businesses were impacted, including my own Denver singing telegram agency. In-person telegram deliveries were temporarily deemed non-essential during our spring stay-at-home order, even though I could technically perform zero-contact, socially distanced versions. I did quickly begin offering virtual deliveries via Zoom, but, for some customers, virtual serenades weren't an adequate substitute for the live action experience. When the initial order was relaxed, business began to pick up. While I empathize immensely with small businesses who weren't as fortunate, the month following stay-at-home was one of the busiest of my nearly seventeen year career. Customers utilized our services seventy times to celebrate quarantine birthdays, Mother's Day, graduations and other special occasions in unique ways. Singing telegram performers are apparently essential workers after all.

This year obviously wasn't all unicorns and butterflies – though, pre-pandemic, I did perform my stilt unicorn at Colorado winter resorts and visit a Mexican butterfly sanctuary – but there's a growing body of evidence that practicing gratitude improves general well-being, increases resilience, strengthens social relationships and reduces stress and depression. Giving thanks can also strengthen your immune system, which has rarely been more important. So while I'm certainly sensitive to everyone and everything we've lost, I'd like to accentuate the positives. Below are a few of the things I've been #blessed to experience this year.

Released Butterflies EP on Spotify & other digital music platforms

Learned how to surf in Costa Rica (pre-pandemic)

Played singing cupid on Valentine’s Day for the sixteenth consecutive year

Began conscious breathwork practice with Claudia Amarsi

Skydived out of my first airplane

Stewarded my singing telegram business through a pandemic

Successfully completed Deepak Chopra 30-day meditation challenge

Finished writing & started recording my Craigslist-inspired tune “Under the Eclipse” with a Denver music producer (working with a voice coach along the way)

Took the cold plunge - began hot and cold therapy practice, having long ago been inspired by Tom Robbins’ novel Jitterbug Perfume

Appeared on Colorado Springs TV program in conjunction with Valentine’s Day

Rang in New Year’s Eve at uber-magical Everland gala (pre-pandemic)

Won DGTL Lightning in a Bottle / Grand Artique talent show, with help from Danny Fantastic

Hiked Kenosha Pass amidst changing Aspen leaves

Piloted four-legged stilt zebra in Costa Rica for the third time

Practiced [socially distanced] yoga at Red Rocks & Everland

Sang at my Aunt Pansy’s celebration of life in Indiana

Was featured on VoyageDenver.com

Summited a 14er (14,000 foot peak) called Quandary with Archipelago Clubs

Sang on LA’s legendary KROQ radio station via video chat

Was transformed into the Grinch for a day by Melinda Wolfe

Danced on stilts at Circus Collective’s Black Lives Matter fundraiser

Began learning Argentinian tango

Wrote & performed a personalized bday gram - with accompaniment from Melissa Ivey - for the son of a prominent Colorado music industry exec

Studied racism, North American history, fascism, sleep, the Vagus nerve & more

Animated four-legged stilt unicorn at Colorado winter resorts with Smitten Kitten

Embodied the Headless Horseman at Denver Botanic Gardens

Sang at first ever virtual Burning Man

Attended a handful of Covid-safe events, including Acoma Street Project, Crush Walls, Marc Rebillet’s drive-in theater show & Rainbow Militia’s Gnome Away from Home

Was rendered speechless by a Monarch butterfly sanctuary in Michoacan, Mexico (pre-pandemic)

Image: Jonathan Shoup
Makeup: Miriam Andolini