Jeanna Letzring
- Dec 29, 2020
- 6 min read

Looking back on 2020...

I am sure I am not alone in feeling like this year was like riding a rollercoaster. I loved them in my youth, but in my adult life, not so much.

I started this year with more clients and prospective clients than ever before. I had an intern who I had promoted to a paid consultant, the first real member (other than myself) of the PID team.

Then... lockdown... it caused clients to pause or cancel projects, new clients dried up, kids and husband were home all day... EVERYDAY.

We decided to truly make the best of the situation and finished our basement, redid our stairs, and repainted numerous areas.

We spent a lot of quality family time together, we did little trips (masked and social distanced) to regain control of our sanity. Celebrating our 15th anniversary in Florida was magical.

Professionally I decided to mentor a second intern, Catherine, and I got the chance to teach and help another person interested in Interior Design. We also focused on expand PID with E-Design and I committed a lot of time updating the website.

My sister's July wedding was rescheduled for next July and our big, annual lake week with numerous out of state friends and family cancelled. My best friend and her son still came and we made so many memories.

At the end of July we decided to build again, after toying with the idea for a few years. We did things in true Jeanna and James fashion and chose our lot, model, and made all selections on the new house, as well as put our house on the market, and sold it in under two weeks.

In September we moved into an apartment...yes, all five of us (and Charlie rabbit). Don't feel bad for us though, it is brand new, so it is kind of like living in a hotel with amenities. We have really gotten close... I am sure when we move we won't see ours kids for weeks, escaping to far off places in the new house.

September also brought Libby, a senior Interior Design student needing an internship. With new client's multiplying, jobs resuming, and kids back in school it all seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Catherine decided she needed a full time gig and the kids went hybrid, then to full distance learning. We didn't throw our annual pumpkin carving party, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving with anyone, and the apartment shut down all common areas.

All that I took in stride because I knew Catherine was moving on to her next adventure prepared and I was a big factor in that. I also knew I couldn't permanently sustain three employees, so my decision I was dreading solved itself.

I also took my daughter and her best friend to Colorado for a birthday trip where we crammed every possible ounce of fun in.

Now, in this last month of the year, I realize I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am meant to do, with people I cherish. It wasn’t the year any of us thought it would be, but my family and I are healthy, we will be in our new house soon enough, and PID is evolving into its next phase of adding paint and styling.

I am blessed, grateful, and optimistic.

Much love and cheers to a new year!!

Jeanna Letzring

Hailey-

This year is one for the books and I'm sure I'm not alone on that one. However, I like to look on the moments that may have stunk at the time and can now laugh at. Here are some downs that happened but let these be lessons learned and a good story to tell next year.

Starting off in September I adopted a cute little puppy who I named Cooper! He unfortunately came to us sick with worms (and many other problems), so I had to learn how to take care of not only myself, but also a dog. Take my advice... Do more research into rescues before adopting.

A positive is that he has brought me so much joy with learning his goofy personality and has taught me better patience and becoming a better adult.

I can laugh now, but the month of November was a dozy...

Biggest one was having car problems which is not something a broke college student likes to have. The week of Thanksgiving came and my father and I were on our way to the dealership to purchase my new car (my father driving my problematic car, having to now manually shift as it no longer could normally) and I following behind in my brothers car. Not two miles down the road from my house, my car died and could only coast. It had to be pushed into a McDonald's parking lot where it had to be towed the five miles to the dealership.

Funny-ish part... my dash light lit up like a Christmas tree. How festive!

My car ultimately died the day before Thanksgiving. It was sure not in my life plan to buy a car while in college, but sadly I had to say goodbye to a family car passed down from my grandparents, to my twin brother and I when we turned 16 which held a lot of good memories. At least now I have a more reliable vehicle to get me to work and one to make new memories in.

Which brings me to my next point, I still have a job!

I am very fortunate to have a job that I love, even after the first shut down! At one point I didn't know if I'd still get to do this dream job and would have to go back to retail or find a corporate job. Again, not in my life plan at the time and it was devastating to think about and now I'm extremely grateful I still hold my job through once again another shut down.

One big perk of this year coming to an end is I get to graduate from college in December from Augsburg University with a degree in Marketing and minor in International Business (YAY, FINALLY!)!

Let's not forget to look back on the year, while it may not have been ideal, though we made the most of it. Smile and laugh, I'm sure we could all use it!

Happy Holidays and Cheers to 2021!

My Fur Baby | Pinnacle Interior Designs

FINALLY GRADUATED COLLEGE | Pinnacle Interior Designs

Libby-

I can't believe that this year is really coming to a close. I'll have to agree with Jeanna this year was really like riding a rollercoaster. There have been some low moments, but so many more great moments.

This year I got to spend a lot of time being around my family and friends, safely of course. I also got to travel just a little bit to some fun places. I went on vacation to Arizona at the beginning of this year, I went to my cabin in Brainerd for some time away in the summer, a business trip to Oklahoma in October, and a short trip to Duluth in November.

Here's a photo of a fish I caught in Brainerd...

One of my favorite things that happened this year was joining Pinnacle Interior Designs as an intern! I love getting to work alongside Jeanna and Hailey, they have helped me learn so much about interior design. My teachers always say you will learn a lot more about design by being out in the world, working with designers. This statement is 100% true, I learned so much more than I ever could working with Jeanna and Hailey.

I feel like this year was definitely a year of growth for me. Through all of the things that happened, I learned a lot about myself. From switching from in-person school to online, I had to learn how to manage time better than I was. I had to find things to do that were productive like reading books and organizing.

I am very grateful for all of the new people I met this year and all of the memories that this year brought with it. I hope all of you have a happy holidays, and I cant wait to see what next year has in store!

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Looking back on 2020...