GOODBYE TO 2020, HELLO TO 2021

****NOTE****As I did with my Thanksgiving Blog, I am taking a break from whimsy for my New Year’s Blog. Read below for my New Year’s Message.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”   These are the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859. Penned 162 years ago, and nothing, absolutely nothing I could have written about the year 2020 could better express what the entire world has experienced these last 365 days.

You may wonder where we can find the best, the wisdom, the belief, the light, and the spring of hope in the face of the unmitigated suffering and despair that has been endured by the entire world’s population, as well as the cruelty, bitter divisions, and festering racism that has been exposed in our own country.

This is where we find it……….in the world’s health care workers who have put their own lives in danger to care for the sick and dying; in the volunteers who have brought food to the hungry, sewn masks on their home sewing machines and distributed them around the world; in the truck drivers who have worked exhausting hours to bring limited supplies to our grocery stores; in the restaurant owners and workers, although having their livelihood pulled out from under them in a whirlwind of a day’s time, have donated food to their community food banks. We have seen it in the generosity of entertainers who have brought us free virtual concerts; in the entrepreneurs and creative thinkers who have brought laughter to us with their creative home exercise routines (My favorite is the man “treadmilling” on dish detergent he spilled on the floor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBxMiTj1K18), and ingenious videos of home-made amusement parks ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiRFXJpD_-o). We have seen it in the underrated, tireless teachers, who have had to quickly learn to “teleteach” their students while helping their own children with their schoolwork. We have seen it in the parents who are juggling working from home with caring for their children while helping them with schoolwork that is completely foreign to them. We have seen it in the brilliant scientific researchers, who have worked night and day to develop a vaccine against a deadly virus, the likes of which we have not experienced since the polio epidemic of the early 20^th century.

We find the light in the millions of people of all colors, ages, nationalities, and religions, who march to protest racism, hatred, and violence. We find the light in the idealism of a younger generation that works to include everyone, regardless of their differences, to build better communities.

There is no doubt in any rational mind that 2020 was a horrible year- “the worst of times, the age of foolishness, the epoch of incredulity, the season of darkness, and the winter of despair.” But as the year comes to a close, with a vaccine being administered, hatred exposed and denounced, and a respite from elections, there is a possibility of “the best of times, the age of wisdom, the epoch of belief, the season of light, and the spring of hope.”

Wishing all of you a Happy, Healthy, and Safe New Year.  

***Resolve to eat healthier this year with my free and low cost, low fat, video recipes by clicking on the “course” tab at the top or left side of this website. Or go to YouTube and type in my name to access the videos.**** 

+++++NOTE+++++ Besides the whimsical blog writing, my plans for this website going into 2021 are to focus on Weight Loss and Healthy Eating with more recipe videos, the launch of the long-awaited Behavior Modification Course, and the development of a group where members with weight struggles can gather for advice, camaraderie, and exchange of weight loss tips. It is currently a Facebook Group called Weight Loss Highway, which you can request to join on my Facebook Page. Next week, I will discuss with my web designer how to bring you a group that is easier to access, similar to the old Message Boards on my Alzheimer site.