It's been a good year

I've put a couple little funnies on Facebook that speak to our fear of what might happen in the coming year.  Here's one of them.

It's true, a lot of awful things happened in 2021.  Covid just refuses to die out, parts of the world are burning while others are flooded, tornadoes seem to have moved to the deep south instead of terrorizing Missouri and Kansas, earthquakes are becoming commonplace.  We've had more catastrophes than I can count, and you can't help but wonder where it will all end.

However, this morning I thought of all this and asked myself, "Have these things ruined my life?"

Just this morning I've enjoyed re-creating a dessert my mom used to make often for several years somewhere in the 60's:  Woolworth's cheesecake.  That isn't what Mother called it, but when I began googling for the recipe, I found out the dessert was served at the food counters in Woolworth's.  It isn't a true cheesecake, although it has cream cheese in it.  I guess my mom got tired of it, because by the time I married Cliff, she had totally stopped making it.  I always loved it, but had only made it once after discovering the recipe.  Today I made it again.  I always feel like I'm honoring my mom when I try to duplicate something she made when I was a child.  

I love to cook, and I've done plenty of it this year.  It makes me happy.  This morning I boiled turkey bones for a couple of hours so I can make turkey frame soup.  I got four cups of meat off the bones that would have been thrown away with the bones.  The turkey came all the way from Carthage, Missouri, to make me happy.  (The son-in-law's mother provided it.)

I so enjoyed my garden this past summer.  We were very short on rain, but the rains we got seemed to come at the right times to keep my corn growing.  We've enjoyed my Bodacious Sweet Corn so much!  I served some in a slow cooker at our Christmas get-together.  Oh, and I started a strawberry patch that I hope will give us lots of berries this coming spring.

If I'm careful and don't hurry, I can still go for my walks in the pasture with Gabe.  It's one of my favorite things to do, feeling the warmth of the sun in summer, and the brisk, refreshing breeze on my face in winter.  Oh, and the smell of the woods is wonderful!

Cliff and I haven't had Covid yet.  Of course we're vaccinated, but many people have still gotten it in spite of the vaccine.  So far, so good.

We have a dog and a cat to entertain us (and cost us money, but they're worth it so far).

We have typical old-people problems, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves.  We have plenty of fun times, and the grandson is right next door to help us with anything we can't manage, and never complains about doing it.

We've never lacked for food or clothing, and this year is no exception.  We can be warm in winter and cool in summer, with a roof over our heads that doesn't leak.

Cliff and I are both thankful that we're able to read any library book we want on our iPads.

Oh yes, and the Kansas City Chiefs!  I never thought anybody would catch me watching football, but those guys' personalities got me hooked.  I'm truly going to miss them when the season's over.

I could go on, but I hope you see what I mean:  I can't say 2021 has been awful for me, personally.  I feel bad for those who have been hurt by all the calamities across the world, and almost feel guilty that I have it so good.  But I can't let the problems of others make me forget how much I have to be thankful for.

And on that note, I wish you all a happy new year.  If your year was awful, I hope 2022 treats you better.  As long as I'm able, I'll try to keep on the sunny side.