HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Well, here we are again on the first day of a brand new year. How many of us approach this day and new year with a feeling of optimism? How many of us look down the long corridor of the coming year with a heart full of hope and a head full of doubt?

I like to think I’m more of an optimist as opposed to a pessimist, but I have to admit that while my heart hopes 2023 will be a better year for us all, my head thinks that’s unlikely. Amazingly, I’ve reached these conclusions without paying too much attention to the news. I know we are on the verge if a recession, that the inflation rate has made my grocery budget rise far more than I like. I rather enjoyed shopping after John passed because I spent so little compared to all the specialty items I purchased for him. I even got to the point where I would tell myself, “Self, if you want that steak, you can afford it. BUY IT!!!!” I’ve a feeling me, myself and I will be arguing as to what each of us wants as opposed to what each of us thinks we can afford during 2023.

There’s also the war in the Ukraine. Is Putin an absolute idiot…I think so. Should he be removed from power…I think so. Should we do more to help the Ukraine…I don’t know. The reason I don’t know is that I simply don’t understand where all the money that’s in the governmental budget comes from. My sister told me, “They just print more.” That may be, but if I were to just keep writing checks without funds, I think I’d end up in jail. Finance was never my forte.

The final thing my head likes to throw out there is climate change. There are folks who say it isn’t so, but the weather has been unbelievable not just across the country, but around the world. I don’t remember ever having frozen rain in the Seattle area; Portland, yes, but not Seattle. I also don’t remember ever having fires as close as Index and Snoqualmie as they were this past year. I want to go up there this spring and see if my huckleberry fields (which were replaced by new growth) were burned allowing for their potential return. I’ve always loved having the greenbelt behind me, but could it be a firestorm just waiting to happen?

It's my heart I’m choosing to listen to because my heart makes me feel good. It provides me with hope that me, myself and I and all my loved ones be they family or friends will be able to move through 2023 buoyed by our love for each other and the world that is our permanent home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!