Musings on songwriting, as well as the new year

The lyrics of my song are pretty much done.  I've changed words and phrases, thrown out some things and added others.  There is a beginning and an end.  

The tune has me wondering, though.  This song doesn't seem "country", which is all I've ever done.  I have zero skills on the guitar.  I chord, that's all; and even then I miss strings often and don't know a lot of chords.  I need a real songwriter to help with the tune.  I've done something different that isn't like anything I've done with a song or poem, and while it seems right, I'm not sure exactly what to do with it, so I'm waiting for a breakthrough.  I could read it as a poem, but it isn't meant to be a poem.

We're having winter weather now.  Light rain, or snow that melts within a couple hours.  Thirties and forties by day and freezing or near freezing at night.  Clouds most of the time.  I saw the full moon one night this week, but otherwise clouds cover the skies.  

Every year the time speeds up.  I can't believe this year only has three days left.  It hasn't been a bad year for us, though.

Cliff got two, count 'em, TWO new cochlear implants this year, and his hearing is still getting better all the time.  He'll be getting a tuneup next week, and that always brings about improvement.  I'm so thankful for that, and he is too.  He's been having dizzy spells intermittently.  He has an appointment for that in late January.  He had one before, but hadn't had any problems for about a month and thought he was cured, so he cancelled.  We first thought the dizziness was connected to his last cochlear implant, but since then we remembered that he had some severe dizzy spells long before that happened.  He told me once that even if he had the dizziness the rest of his life, those implants would still be worth it.

I had a lot of problems with my stomach hurting in the new year of 2020.  Nothing helped.  I was told I had Barrett's esophagus, a condition that is permanent and can lead to cancer.  However, two years later when they scoped my stomach, I did NOT have Barrett's esophagus!  Doctors do make mistakes!  In February of 2020 I stopped drinking coffee and switched to tea.  From that time forward, I started improving and last year got off all the meds doctors had given me for my stomach.  A few months ago I decided to try one cup of coffee with cream.  No problem.  Since then I've been drinking two cups of coffee every morning, with no problem at all.  Almost every day I thank God that I can drink coffee again.  If you are a coffee drinker, you know just how wonderful that is.  Oh yes, and I can eat all the chocolate I want now.  Sometimes if you are forced to do without something for a while, you learn to appreciate it when you get it back.

My pets seem to have fared well this year, even poor old Mama Kitty.

We have enough money that Cliff can afford to mess around with broken-down tractors, and enough for me to buy anything I take a notion to.  My needs are small, in the grand scheme of things.

We are so appreciative of Arick, our oldest grandchild, who does any hard work we ask of him:  Mowing, helping Cliff on projects, bringing in the heavy groceries... I wish all senior citizens had someone in their family like that, and of course, many do.  We never take it for granted.  All the grandchildren come to visit once in a while, and that is something else to be thankful for.

Every year I am more and more grateful for Tylenol and ibuprofen.  I also take more of both, although never more than two doses daily of either.

If next year turns out like this one, I will not complain.

I hope all my readers have a happy 2024.