So long 2020... don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out....

Strange times we live in. Among other things, it has been a year of firsts for everyone in ... well ... the entire world.

2020 for me was...

• the first-time I saw empty shelves in stores because people felt compelled to hoard toilet paper and certain cleaning products.
• the first time since diaper changing days that my hands were raw from over washing. 
• the first time I witnessed people backing away from other people without ever really intending or wanting to do so -- a time of stopping hugs in midair.
• the first time I ever contributed to a Presidential campaign or put political signs in my front yard because I needed to remind myself that I, too, am entitled to my own opinion.
• the first time since the Vietnam War Moratorium (when I was held captive in an elevator by a bunch of screaming, seemingly unhinged, hysterical protestors) that I even thought of what it is like to be on the other end of what has come to be known as "the cancel culture"...
• the first time that I ever had a gut reaction to the word "woke".

Perhaps most significantly - 2020 was the first time that I saw frightened eyes on masked individuals on a regular and disheartening basis. The eyes of children above masks is the saddest for me. And now -- it is a first time for those alive in all the world to be caught in the web of a pandemic and to be experiencing well-earned "plague angst" and "covid fatigue". 

All that being said and in trying to remain positive ... just think of other new words and phrases that have been added to our vocabularies. One term I coined myself is - damncovid.   Aren't we all just so sick of it? We need to switch gears.... It is possible, though, to think of some really good things about this past year. They are all around us. Further, it is possible to recall these things in brief moments of sanity. I think.... I hope.... Perhaps the difficulty is in trying to hold onto those moments of sanity once you do find them.  Those moments and a good sense of humor can be amazing survivor tools in a world of so much loss, sadness, and myriad of challenges. Right? There are so many things to talk about, but ... back to the idea of maintaining sanity... or perhaps of being on the edge -- if truth be told.

I, for example, have become an avid wild turkey watcher.  For some reason, and that may have to do with walnut trees in a field close by or because a neighbor feeds them on a daily basis, the wild turkeys abound -- huge and in large numbers. Fascinating creatures even if a bit greasy looking.  I have also spent a bit of time counting the points on antlers as the buck pass through my yard and pasture twice a day -- often stopping to prune my lilac trees in uneven and artistic ways.  I am not concerned about these new "compulsions".  The thing that is bothering me is my plan to vacuum the ceiling of my garage.  I had planned to do that in warmer weather and now am waiting for the first halfway decent day. I can almost see you shaking your head or rolling your eyes -- don't you try to tell me that you have not found new ways to entertain yourself in order to survive the past few months.... (I would love if you would share some of them.) We do what we need to do. Right?  (You should see my basement.) 

One more thing ... the greatest oxymoron ever is the now popular AloneTogether. Hang in there world. There is light at the end of the tunnel...."  That, my friends, is a given.  It is what my Mom always used to say. It has always been true before; I believe it is true now. I, personally, am counting on it.  Onward to 2021... with hope for much better times and no cobwebs on the ceiling of my garage.