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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 31 ,2 02 0 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Halton Media General Manager Jason Pehora CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at theifp.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail lpolar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFP.CA It's difficult to put into words how 2020 has tested, laid bare, inspired and re- defined our humanity. The bushfires in Aus- tralia. Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi. Brexit. Har- vey Weinstein and #Me- Too. Breonna Taylor, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd. Murder hornets. Earth- quakes and hurricanes. Locust swarms in Africa and Asia. The killing spree in Nova Scotia. Protests, marches, and riots across the world. First Nation evacuations in Ontario. Amazon and online shopping. Jacinda Ardern. Sean Connery. Alex Tre- bek. Joyce Echaquan. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Joe Biden. Kamala Har- ris. Prince Harry and Me- gan Markle. Dr. Bonnie Henry saying, "Be kind, be calm, be safe." And that's not to men- tion the pandemic that caused well over a million deaths around the world, overwhelmed health-care systems and brought about an economic crisis not seen since the Great De- pression. Fear, frustration, worry, job insecurity, housing in- security, food insecurity -- all take a toll. Even our lan- guage changed, with lock- down, social distancing, flatten the curve, social bubbles, Zoom and Teams and Google Meet becoming commonly-uttered words and phrases. And yet even in our darkest hours, life goes on. A baby is born. A son plays the guitar. A child's first day at school. Your daughter learns to code. You sled down a snow-cov- ered hill. You call a grand- parent for advice, and lis- ten as they describe their remarkable life. Your partner holds you tight. Your mom rubs coco- nut oil into your hair. Your dad makes breakfast for dinner. You sit in a garden you made. You find baby rabbits. A sister helps you practice for a big inter- view. You pull out the games you used to play as a kid to entertain your kids. You look up into the stars one dark night. You help a stranger. A stranger helps you. We sur- vive together. Whatever happens out- side your door, honour those moments. Because every second of those mo- ments is your life. And it's a life worth living well, no matter how big or small or loud or quiet. Goodbye 2020. Hello 2021. Nadia Alam is a Halton physician and past presi- dent of the Ontario Med- ical Association. Her col- umns also appear on www.drnadiaalam.com. She can be reached through her website. A MEMORABLE YEAR TO SAY THE LEAST IT'S TIME TO REFLECT ON OUR PRECIOUS MOMENTS OF 2020, WRITES NADIA ALAM Life will change in the years ahead. Twelve months ago, life was progressing fairly nicely. Everything was the way it should be. Times were good. Most people had jobs. Business was prospering. Stock mar- ket values continued to in- crease. Looking back, these were the good old days. The way 20/20 indicates normal vision acuity, it seemed to be how 2020 was shaping up. It looked all clear ahead. Then came COVID-19. It hit fast and hard. Sud- denly, world order as we knew it became extinct. The global population was fighting a highly conta- gious disease. Millions were getting sick. Billions were fearful of being infected. Prosperity for many evaporated. Established firms went out of business, staff were out of a job and others were laid off as their firms scrambled to cut costs. The level of mental stress reached an all-time high. Stress of the disease, finances, and then, in a time when we needed the support and comfort of so- cial interaction, that too disappeared, or was great- ly inhibited. Then there was a glim- mer of hope. Several vac- cines were starting to ap- pear. Could next year be the time when humans de- feat this deadly pandemic? Medically speaking, there are many uncertain- ties. Those problems, those challenges will be solved. What is certain is the world has changed forever. Life moving forward will be different. Work no longer is fo- cused on a workplace. Commuting two, three or four hours a day to sit in ex- pensive office space seems like a waste of time and money. Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI offers a weekly financial planning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watsonin- vestments.com. OH MY, WHAT A YEAR COVID-19 HAS CAUSED A GREAT PAIN FOR MILLIONS, WRITES PETER WATSON Raccoons search for food at night at a home backing onto a wooded area of Georgetown. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Tony Fortunato photo SNAPSHOT DR. NADIA ALAM Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA PETER WATSON Column