So far, so good. The new year began and we were asleep before it rang in and awoke well after day break. Party animals! Pandemic party animals, I suppose.
Over the long weekend we did take pause to “do nothing” for just a little while. Then the real work of deChristmassing two houses began. It went pretty quickly, but did take a couple of days which prompted wife, Danny, on Sunday to say “I don’t think anybody has as much Christmas stuff as we do.” She may be right.
Workers in Forest were also busy around town Monday morning removing and storing Christmas 2020 until Christmas 2021 rolls around.
On a typical year at the house, by the time Christmas Day has come and gone I’m tired of Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas food, just about anything to do with Christmas.
This year felt different for some reason. Perhaps it was the feeling of normalcy, perhaps the excitement of children both young and old, maybe the lights, the smells, the sound of fireworks bursting in the air, some of that, or all of it combined, felt comforting to the point that I wasn’t really ready to see it go.
Inside the walls of our house we could turn off the news, log off of the computer, sit in front of the fireplace and watch the flames flicker and forget about all the pain and suffering going on in the world as COVID-19 continues to spread, and the never-ending battle over who “really” got elected President of the United States drags on, and on, and on.
One thing is for certain, and that is the fact that on January 20, someone is going to be sworn in as the leader of this nation, and about half the country is going to be happy, and about half the country is going to be mad — just as it has been for the last four years. United we stand, divided we fall....right? It is time we got united.
I didn’t make any New Year’s Resolutions this year — haven’t ever really — but here’s a good thing for us to resolve to do in the coming year as lots of folks everywhere continue to struggle to make ends meet.
Some of you may know — some may not — but the Carlisle Crisis Center in Forest is no longer accepting donations of clothing or household items, but they are still distributing food and hygiene products. The Crisis Center, as well as other like charitable organizations, need our help.
I was there on Monday to drop off some canned goods and a few other things, and the line was long with people needing a little assistance making it though the week. It would be a great resolution for those of us with the means to make an extra effort to help our fellow man this year. I’m going to put that on my to do list for sure.
On the subject of food, we did have our fair share of black-eyed peas, and greens on New Year’s Day, along with some mashed potatoes, fried chicken, fresh sliced sweet onion, and cornbread. I don’t like regular cornbread, so I had the Mexican version and Danny dined on traditional.
Unlike some folks, I love black-eyed peas and have no problem cleaning my plate of them any time of the year and especially on New Year’s with the hope of good luck and prosperity. I commented on Friday that I do hope the peas work better this year than last, and a friend reminded me that “the peas you had last New Year’s have been working pretty great this past year!”
Come to think of it, she pretty much hit the nail on the head with her reply. We were not sick a single time last year. We have avoided the dreaded COVID — so far anyway. If we have good health and happiness what more can we ask for? Thanks for the reminder Suzanne!
As a bonus, this year’s peas were really, really good...maybe that’s a sign!
