January 1, 2022.
2021 decided to deliver one last sucker punch with the death of Betty White. I wasn’t a HUGE Betty White fan, but she stood for so much: feminism and perseverance and smart-mouthed-ness. She WAS, as many of the tributes have said, an American treasure.
No plans for NYE. We watched “Death to 2021,” but it wasn’t nearly as funny as last year’s “Death to 2020.” We then started “Tick, Tick…Book!” but didn’t finish it. (https://screenrant.com/tick-tick-boom-movie-true-story-jonathan-larson/)
We went to bed at 10:30. John fell asleep, but I stayed awake watching Anderson Cooper once again embarrass himself with Andy Cohen. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Andy Cohen. I read his autobiography. It was hilarious; he's hilarious. And I know Andy and Anderson are great friends, but it always seems to me that Anderson is clearly out of his comfort zone having Andy Cohen force shots on him all evening. Also, Don Lemon on remote in New Orleans in a purple-sequined zip-up hoodie. That falls under the category of wtf.
And suddenly it was 12:04 a.m. I totally missed it. Sigh.
But today is another day. My Chicago babies are coming today (racing ahead of 5-9" of snow....) and we'll be having Christmas #3 this evening. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for them to text me and tell me they've left.
Tomorrow, we leave for Disney. Yes, yes. I know. I KNOW. Believe me, I know. But we are vexed and bolstered (that's vaxxed and boostered in non-auto-correct text) and we have our NC-17 masks, so we are ready. My biggest hope is that we'll get there and we'll be the only ones there.
So Happy New Year, everyone. I feel like I want to sit down and write long, rambling letters to at least half-a-dozen of you, maybe more, but I have a gazillion and one things to do before 7 a.m. tomorrow.
Resolutions? Aside from the usual lose weight and exercise (sigh), 1) I’m resolved to go through the stuff on the top of my computer desk and frame anything that’s still relevant. The top shelf of my computer desk has been the depository for anything that deserves a frame. This includes art work, both purchased and created; photographs; some posters; something that we got signed at a long-ago Gen Con (I know you’re dying to know what this is; so am I….). 2) I also resolve to pay more attention to my house. I stepped down from the newspaper in June (I did NOT retire, because retiring makes it sound like I’m sitting around waiting to die, which I am NOT) and immediately began painting the trim on my house along with several other home-improvement projects. I need to make curtains for the front window (I mean, we’ve only lived her 31 years, right?) and maybe do some interior painting. In the good intentions category, I will continue to read (I read a LOT in 2021) and watch still more awesome TV and keep my brain working with the daily crossword.
2022. Gosh, I hope this year is better than the last two. Still, at the risk of getting preachy, let’s all just remember to count our blessings. Really. Stop and do it, because they always outweigh the stress and sorrow. “And if we worry, and we can’t sleep, we’ll count our blessings instead of sheep.” So again, Happy New Year, all.
