2021 Passes Away, No One Attends Funeral

I read a poll this morning from Rasmussen reporting that a whopping 48% of respondents said they had a horrible 2021 and couldn't wait for it to be over. Well, they won't have long to wait. Just a few more ticks of the clock and we begin 2022.

Tonight Times Square will only admit those who are fully vaccinated

 
There is something fascinating to note in the human spirit. No matter what year a poll like that might be taken, most would say they were happy to see the old year pass away, and they would welcome with a positive attitude the commencement of the New Year most warmly. It's in our DNA, I believe, to be naturally optimistic and hopeful. The tendency is to wipe away the bad memories and embrace the good ones. 

There was much to dislike about 2021, certainly, but now we turn the page on the calendar with renewed hope for something better. Will all uncertainty disappear? No. But we are somehow refreshed in the exercise of seeing the bad memories buried. There is not a thing we can do to relive 2021 - it's six feet under, good or bad. And no one attended THAT funeral for sure.

Personally, I have been much more hopeful about 2021 than I was in 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing and there were so many variables and so many opinions and conspiracy theories. The development of the vaccines and the booster doses were most welcome in our household. COVID-19 and its variants have proven to be pesky at the very least, and deaths from contracting it continue unabated. I am grateful for the science that has tackled the problem head on.  

We have inflation now, something we haven't seen in years. 2021 was the year of the "great resignation" when many quit their jobs. Supply chain issues continue to plague us, though it seems to be getting better. The snow keeps getting deeper day by day this winter - a good sign for the water year - but digging out from under all that global warming in Woodland can be tiring for an old man like me. 

We logged in two more missionaries this year, and a temple marriage yesterday. It is so stimulating to see young people committed to doing the right things in their lives. I love my family, and I love my grandchildren especially. I'm not certain I could navigate the tricky bends in the highway of life as gracefully and skillfully as they are. 

Just when you think there shouldn't be any more wildfires out there, Colorado near Boulder is being devastated by the largest and most destructive wildfire in their history. Our daughter and her family live nearby and were packing bags last night in the event they would be evacuated. Thankfully this morning they were notified that the fire is not spreading and seems to be dying down. It's the very area they originally looked at to buy a home, then decided on Broomfield instead. It was a tender mercy to escape this disaster, and now they await news in how they can organize to help relieve the suffering. Hopefully with the Utah snowstorms we have been experiencing they will also find some real time deliverance.

What will 2022 hold for you and your family? It will all be in our hands to decide after midnight tonight. There is much that we have control over, but there will always be uncertainty. We can renew our New Year's resolutions (is that even a thing these days?), determined to get ourselves into better physical condition, and we can resolve to eat better, and we can weigh travel risks and rewards anew with more determination to find better answers than before, or we can simply pull up a comfortable chair, watch more football and basketball and munch on peanut M&Ms. It's all up to us.

Whatever your inclinations may be, I will pass along this bit of narrative I heard on the radio driving home from our grandson's wedding yesterday - if you're looking to snag a great deal on gently used gym equipment, the optimum time to buy is the last week in January. You might want to put off those resolutions at least until then.