Looking to a Better 2021

It’s over. We can turn the calendar from 2020 to 2021.  What a year 2020 has been.  I have not seen one like it, not even close, including the years of the polio epidemic when everyone’s schedules were interrupted and fear hung in the air like a dirty black cloud.

This past year has been one of disappointment, trashed dreams, and too often tragedy as loved ones and friends came down with the dreaded COVID virus

But even in the midst of all the chaos, I learned several things, as I am sure everyone else has as well.  I’ve learned to keep going, to keep living a reasonably interesting life.  I have had to adjust. I have learned how to work virtually—I don’t like it, but I can do it.  I’ve not only become acquainted with Zoom, I have learned how to use it.

The epidemic has helped me appreciate the right now, today.  Too often my mind has me a year ahead, more than that sometimes.  There is a place for planning, but enjoying the moment is also important.

 Oh, how important my farm his been during this COVID mess.  The silence of a winter night, with stars winking and blinking everywhere.  The call of a whip-poor-will on a spring evening. Fresh produce from my garden.

And most of all, oh how I appreciate my family, knowing that they will help Ruth and me with a simple phone call. How important this is for those of us in the autumn years of our lives.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: There is much to be learned when chaos and fear are everywhere.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To learn more about Christmas in days past, see The Quiet Season. Purchase my newest books, When the White Pine Was King, and The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.