Well, it’s a new year, and that means new everything—possibilities, adventures, and discoveries!
I for one am filled with an optimism that I did not have at this time last year. The ringing in of 2021 brought with it a sense of relief, and I have since realized that “relief” and “optimism” are not the same things. Let’s face it—2020 was the year that will be written about, and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be reading and studying that year with only a smidge of the incredulity that those of us who survived it felt. Honestly…
I remember feeling that disbelief in January of that year when the great Kobe Bryant and his lovely daughter were killed in a helicopter crash of all things. At first, I thought it was a bit of that “fake entertainment news” that likes to surface every once in a while on Twitter, but then all the news outlets and social media sites started reporting it and I realized that, sadly, this was true. It was the first of many bizarre dominoes to fall that year: George Floyd’s death at the knees of a police officer, which kicked off protests that unfortunately led to violence (but not by the protestors); the deaths of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chadwick Boseman (out of nowhere – “Wakanda Forever!”), and Alex Trebek, among other notable celebrities; the destruction of 2/3 of Australia by a brush fire; Antarctica’s record high temperatures; millions of acres in the American West destroyed by wildfires; and of course the (still ever-present) Covid pandemic. Politically, we were about as screwed up a country as we’d ever been under the so-called leadership of a man who was only in it for the sake of his ego and not for his country or its citizens.
So yeah, I was relieved when 2021 arrived, but I didn’t exactly feel hopeful. After all, our country was bleeding badly and there was very little to staunch the flow.
And then the Capitol riots happened just six days into the new year. Have I used the word “disbelief” yet?
However, I woke up on January 1st this year (2022), and I felt a sense of hope that I hadn’t felt since 2020 reared its ugly head. I feel like this will be a good year, that good things are on the horizon. Not that there won’t be challenges and difficulties; after all, we’re still hurting from the last two years, and Covid seems to have moved in with no plans to go anywhere anytime soon. What was it Benjamin Franklin said? “Guests and fish stink after three days”? Well, they have nothing on our pandemic.
Still, so far, this year has been a good one for me. Nothing has bothered me (much). I didn’t make any resolutions, which I usually do. Instead, I have resolved myself to have a good year, to work on myself as a person and as a writer, as a mom and a wife and a teacher; to be involved in things once more and to take on new challenges. After all, that’s what a new year gives us—the opportunity to make a fresh start. So Happy New Year to one and all! Stay safe, but don’t forget to live. (And keep the Febreeze handy 😉.)