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Thankfully, the end of 2020 is on the visible horizon.

Let’s be honest, we’ve been looking forward to midnight, Dec. 31, for a long time now. Since March at the very least. It’s been a long, slow march through all of those things this year has had to “offer.”

It’s tested us every step of the way and it made us hope for better days when COVID-19 is a distant memory. When we can go to the supermarket without having to first put on a mask.

When we don’t have to fret over vaccines and we can enjoy a day out without worrying about what the cough from the person you meet on the street could mean.

And yet, we’re cautioned because as the calendar turns over to 2021, we don’t automatically get a factory reset. COVID-19 will still be with us.

For a good chunk of this new year we will continue to deal with the fallout due to the pandemic. People will still be suffering and will still struggle to make ends meet.

The economy will bear the scars of 2020 for the foreseeable future and we will continue to adapt to an ever-changing new world.

It would be understandable if people’s optimism falters some, despite the new year. We’ve dealt with a lot: A pandemic and a contentious election are just two examples.

But throughout this year, as reporters at the Austin Daily Herald and around the nation have reported on the pandemic, we’ve come to realize something. Alongside the worsening pandemic, we’ve also been able to tell inspiring stories of people that don’t give up.

This doesn’t mean we forget or minimize those lives lost to COVID-19. We are responsible for taking these memories with us and must vow to do better in the lessons we’ve learned.

We can’t dismiss how we’ve stood in the face of this and that’s evident by the positive stories we were still able to tell within our community and coverage area.

We’ve been fortunate to highlight the strength of people willing to endure that very hope of better days.

We’re thankful for a community that rises to challenges and supports its neighbors and we look forward to that continuing in the new year.

So from all of us at the Austin Daily Herald, we thank all of you throughout our readership for those things you’ve done all year to remain strong in the face of so many challenges.

May your 2021 be filled all the best as we continue moving forward and working toward a better tomorrow.