While you were better than 2020, you still left a lot to be desired. I mean, “better than 2020” is a pretty low bar… Actually in some ways you were even more terrifying. Like January 6th when a rabid mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capital where Congress was certifying the vote.

Or the ongoing insanity of the GQP and their wild conspiracy theories. I lost track of how many times Trump was going to be magically reinstated as President but the outlandish QAnon conspiracy that the long-dead John F. Kennedy Jr. is alive and planning to serve as Donald Trump’s vice president, welp, THAT level of crazy is off the charts.

The complete takeover of the Republican party by white nationalist/supremacist conspiracy addled whack jobs has been shocking. It is disheartening, to say the least, how many of my fellow Americans have fallen for the lie that the election of 2020 was stolen. It feels eerily like fascism is creeping in.

But fortunately the year wasn’t all bad! Starting at Memorial Day (once we were fully vaxxed against Covid 19) we were able to see people in person again! Fathers day with Josh, Mel, Juju & Jack was a definite highlight! We got a much needed dose of hugs & kisses, tickles & giggles.

Then we had trips to Florida and Seattle! It was wonderful to see Charlie, Merry, and everyone! The holly days, from October on, were a series of delightful gatherings! We still haven’t had our Christmas with Josh’s family yet, and we won’t for a while I guess as they just told me they were exposed to Covid this week while visiting Mel’s family in Florida… 😢

Speaking of Covid. The Covid-19 pandemic is entering its third year now. It seems the latest variant – omicron – is much more contagious but much less lethal. Here’s hoping the next variants continue that trend. Sadly the pandemic has wrought a horrible price. Almost 850 thousand Americans have died from it so far.

2021 was another trying year for Earth and its inhabitants. The pandemic has lingered on, and yet again, there were disappointing climate responses from global powers. But there’s still reason to be hopeful as we look ahead to the new year. Prince William launched the Earthshot prize, a ten year initiative to help save the planet. In the intro to the accompanying book he says “The Earthshot concept is simple: Urgency + Optimism = Action”

It is too easy to feel despair over the climate crisis but despair leads to hopelessness & that leads to inaction. The book, on the other hand, is full of examples of people who have taken initiative and been able to turn around seemingly hopeless conditions! A fabulous read, highly recommended.

Then last week Hollywood gave us an amazing, absolutely biting satirical take on climate change with the film “Don’t Look Up”.

Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem – it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it’s too late proves shockingly comical – what will it take to get the world to just look up?

IMDB

Let us hope that 2022 is kinder than 2020 & 2021. Peace, love, joy. Pleasant revelries with friends & family. Trips to see new parks, lighthouses, wilderness areas and offbeat oddities! Experiences that fill our hearts & refresh our souls. 💕 Welcome 2022!