Happy New Year 2021

Happy FREAKING New Year!!!   Despite my best efforts to stay awake and watch 2020 go away officially, I slept through the ball drop. I know that symbolism means absolutely nothing these days, so I'm not butt-hurt about missing that though I might have loved to seen 2020 go away officially.  

As for 2020, usually I do a year in review so here is my annual review of 2020:  Outside of my third grandchild being born and working with some tremendous volunteers who got things done where a lot of people couldn't, I cannot think of anything that will remind me of this year when I look back.  

Hey, you want a positive to start 2021?  We go right into a weekend, so that's a positive - two more days of the "holiday season."  

2021.  I come into 2021 with no resolutions and no goals - however, I did play this facebook game of finding the first four words in a mashup of letters on a screen.  The idea was that the first four words that you find are supposed to be your focus for 2021:

• Creation.  Being more creative is something that has challenged me all of my life, but what I have found is that in 2020, I developed a little more here, but I'm really hoping to turn it up in 2021.
• Health.  Gaining weight and walking around in annoying pain is silly.  It is time for me to drop the weight, but it's also more about ensuring that I focus more here.  Eating right, working out, paying more attention to those annoying things that hurt, and finally continuing to work on my mental health.  It's time to end the self-doubt, lack of confidence and such.  It's time to live my life and not worry about what people think.
• Gratitude.  A lot of times I forget to express my gratitude for things that go so well in my life.  For my family and friends, and those who I work with.  I really need to work harder on that this year.
• Change.  This is an interesting word, but I think it is more about people.  We all need to change.  We all need to just live our own lives.  Help where you can of course, but stop trying to run or ruin peoples lives, and more importantly don't let others try to change you into something they expect.  Be you - warts and all.  Those who don't like that will move on, those who like you regardless are keepers!!!

Interesting four words, but they are truly something that for 2020 I have thought about.  They aren't a resolution, not even a goal, just a focus.  To evolve.  Quite simply, I want to be better.

What's on Tap for 2021???  Hope for "e pluribus unum" (out of many, one).  It might be a pipe dream, but that's my hope.  

More under my control, I am already awake early on January 1st while Mrs. B.O.B. snoozes.  I have turned on the Traeger and grilling a Brisket and making jerky.  Today it's good food and football.

As far as other things on the docket in 2021, well there's always my volunteer work, football - two seasons in 2021, bowling, and watching grandkids.  

Travel.  One thing I want to accomplish in 2021 is Travel.  My son has a game at Tulsa in September (COVID Permitting), and if that's the case, we're driving and seeing parts of the country we haven't yet (NM/TX/OK/AR/CO) after which I'm making a detour to one of my favorite spots - Kansas City - I'm too close not to visit.  I am so looking forward to that.

That's on top of plenty of visits down to Southern California and potentially a trip back up to Portland.

One wish.  HAVE FUN in 2021.  Don't make that a goal or even a resolution, go out and live it because that may be the one thing that you can do where you can piss down the back of our so-called "leaders."  Live life and have fun with the things you can control - they can't control that and it'll piss them off!!!

Final Thought.  2020 sucked for everybody.  Nobody is happy, but let's not carry it into 2021.  I sure hope everybody takes a step back, gives thanks for what they have, and gives a hand up to those in need - there's sure plenty of them out there that could use it.  Let's invest our considerable energy on that.  

While New Years is more symbolic than anything else, on this January 1st I can't help but have this feeling that while we still have issues, things will be better this year.  Like Jerry Springer closes out his show, I offer this as I usually do, but it is apropros:  "Take care of yourselves, and each other."  We can only rely on each other, so let's stick together.

e pluribus unum.