What a bummer of a year 2020 was. It was the year I lost my Dad. The world was thrown into chaos and then isolation due to a pandemic. But people also took to the streets to speak out against police brutality, speak up for Civil Rights and seek justice for folks like Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. We lost so many great people in 2020 like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, Alex Trebek and so many others. There was an election where President Donald Trump lost to President Elect Joe Biden, but Trump refused to concede and to this day continues to baselessly claim the election was stolen from him.
It was all politics – ALL THE TIME!
There were counts and re-counts and re-counts and RE-COUNTS. And there were political ads, after political ads, after political ads. And let’s not forget there was early voting for a run-off that finally ended yesterday that could decide who controls the Senate.
IT WAS EXHAUSTING!
I’m glad 2020 has hit the road and hope that 2021 will bring an upswing from the out-of-control downward spiral last year was. Let us hope for brighter days ahead. Let’s hope the new COVID vaccine is successful and that we can start to get back to some form of normalcy.
I want to get back to worrying about stupid stuff, not whether our Democracy is going to be destroyed.
My brain is fried from all the stress and honestly, I’d rather worry about whether I can keep my New Year’s resolutions, or not.
Usually, I make resolutions of things I hope to accomplish. Typically, the list includes things like losing weight or exercising more or becoming more financially independent. And almost always, those resolutions go out the window by the end of the first week or month.
This year I’m going to set more realistic goals, ones that I know I can stick to.
For example, instead of starting a new diet, I plan to start trying out new exotic recipes. Cook things I’ve never made before. On New Year’s Day I made Braised Short Ribs for the first time (Okay maybe not the most exotic but I had never made it or even ate it before), and it turned out great.
Mother approved!
The next day I used the leftovers to make homemade Beef Ramen soup.
Instead of committing to exercise every day, I resolve to take 15-30 minutes each day, blast some loud music and dance like the world ain’t watching (Because nobody wants or needs to see that mess).
I love walking my dogs on the weekend, and they enjoy it too. So, I resolve to wake up 20 minutes earlier each day and take them for a daily walk before I log into work for the day.
I can’t sing worth a dang. I can’t hold a note or tune if my life depended on it. But this year I resolve to try Karaoke for the first time (at home, while Mom’s in the shower and I’m all alone) and maybe post it to my YouTube channel (yes, I have a You Tube channel, doesn’t everybody?).
I resolve to go treasure hunting with my new metal detector as often as the weather and the weekend hours allow.
I resolve to read all the books I ordered from Amazon in 2020, while also resolving to not buy any more books until I read the ones I bought (this is going to be a hard one to stick to).
I resolve to spend more times on fun hobbies like my search for ghosts, UFOs, Mothman, Bigfoot and the Chupacabra and spend less time doing household chores (And this one will be easy to stick to).
After I get my COVID vaccine and things start to become safe, I resolve to take adventurous road trips again. I’d like to drive US Highway 27 from the Southern tip in Miami all the way to the end of the Highway in Fort Wayne Indiana. Or maybe drive all 2,369 miles of U.S. Highway 1 from the northern state Maine all the way to Key West, Fla. Maybe trek along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada. Or explore the West Coast along the Pacific Coast Highway, or maybe Historic Route 66. I don’t resolve to do all of these but at least one or more once it is safe to do so.
I resolve to win the lottery (they say if you put things out there, it may come true). In that case, I resolve to upgrade my Jeep Compass to a Jeep Wrangler, buy a classic VW Beetle and travel with my dogs in a decent RV.
Patty Leon, Senior Editor