Shalom, 2021

So, it's the final day of this crapola year, and I've already replaced my 2021 calendar on the fridge with my 2022. I'm tempted to leave my 2021 up on the fridge, not because the pages announce wonderful upcoming events. I pretty much stayed home again. Calendar-wise, it's hard for me to take down 2021. Every month features a fabulous photo of my granddaughter, frozen in time. 

But time marches on, and so must my calendar, an old school tradition I will never surrender, Dorothy. Never. At the moment, like so many of us, I feel like I'm marching in reverse. Double-vaxxed and boosted, we almost made it out of 2021 without someone in the family catching you-know-what. Then, right before Christmas, four treasured someones got the omnipresent, dreaded It. My eldest, his wife, their toddler and baby boy. Scary doesn't quite cover it. They're much better now, recovered, kina hora. We're incredibly grateful and relieved. If there's ever a time to count blessings, and keep counting them, it's today. 

So, as my late great Daddy Ben used to say, "Onward!" Let's put one foot in front of the other and try not to trip. Let's keep marching toward the good things that await us. 

Happy New Year! 

When She Smiles That Smile

When a guy turns thirty he must declare

His plans for the future with utmost care

So he calls up the bar where they first met

Arranges a surprise she won't forget

Inside Blue Collar a song starts to play

The same song that played on that fateful day

He takes out a ring, gets down on one knee

Looks up and inquires, "Will you marry me?"

The gal he adores wipes some tears away

It's hard to keep her emotions at bay

Her answer relieves him of all his stress

When she smiles that smile, and gives him a yes