I doubt that anyone would consider 2020 a great year but there were a few perks. Babies were born and people got married and everybody discovered a ton about themselves and their families. I, for example, learned that I could go more than a week without starting my car and going to the store. I learned about grocery delivery and ordering online. And Netflix, God bless ‘em. I learned better appreciation of those oh-so-wonderful healthcare workers and the brief encounters that I had with neighbors. The Covid vaccine is in the marketplace, faster than anyone thought possible. But the biggest perk for me was that I began writing.
When I retired from a real job, my last one being at the Idaho Department of Correction, (Tom called me the prison’s school marm), I was kinda lost. How would I spend my days? Rattle around in our house, wash my windows or rearrange my pictures on the wall? Or maybe I could pace through the neighborhood wishing I had a green thumb like every other neighbor apparently has because their flowers bloom and their grass is green and manicured? Or pretend to like golf, all the while rolling my eyes every single time I heard, “Great shot, Gail,” for a hit that bounced all of 40 yards when the hole was still 250 yards away? Or should I just read books? That was a good thing, but my eyes got tired after I read War and Peaceand Gone with the Wind, so I took a break. Television would do in a pinch, but I grew weary of it (I’m currently watching Virgin Riverand find it entertaining), too. Or maybe I should have run for office? Scratch that. I am too darn honest.
Tom and I enjoyed traveling and we hopped, skipped, and jumped and made it to every continent, but 2020 travel has been a bust. Tom had become ill and Covid shut down my getting on a bus, airplane, or ship. Dang.
On a lark, I decided to try writing and found that I liked it. Having read a cajillion essays written by my English students (some were excellent writers, but others couldn’t find a good verb in an empty paper bag), I enjoyed putting my own words on paper. It was a surprise to discover that the words flowed out of my fingers faster than I could chase an ice cream truck and best of all, it gave me joy. I was drifting along pretty well in my own little world, but then I met Anna and Anita, my editor-girls. And they, along with my daughter Elizabeth and neighbor Linda, teamed up and inspired me to get going on Wrinkly Bits. Now, I have a focus for next year, 2021. It will be bigger and better than 2020, that’s for damn sure. I love what I do and I’m just getting started!
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