It’s Monday, January 4.
The fourth day of the year.
My 22,381st day on the planet.
The first business day of the new year. Well, unless you’re one of those essential workers who keeps us fed, moving, and/or alive.
Thank you.
I’ve been off from the day job, mostly, for the last two weeks. I had a meeting, and a couple of campfires to put out. I had my last Santa visit on December 23.
So, it’s back to work and I already have a stack of projects to work on.
I’ll be going to the office as soon as I get back from the gym.
And, by going to the office, I mean moving to the other side of the desk.
I had a weak moment this weekend in which I actually missed my downtown office. I’ve been there less than half a dozen times since March.
I quickly realized what was happening, sat down, and drank some water. I was soon over it.
I mean, if you know me, you know that my dream is to retire from the day job so that I can write, do theater, and play Santa Claus. I just can’t do that yet.
As long as Publisher’s Clearinghouse keeps social distancing, retirement is not going to happen any time soon.
I’ve accepted that.
But as much as I want to retire, I don’t want to spend this year not going to the office.
I’m not going to rehash 2020, but this working from home thing is getting pretty old.
Then again, so am I.
Sure, the vaccine is coming. And if the latest report I heard is correct before we can open up the goal is to vaccinate 70% of the people.
This for a virus with a 99% survival rate.
Don’t @ me, Karen.
Yes, the virus is serious. Yes, it is deadly. I know people who have had it, who have recovered, and who have not.
But let’s not fool ourselves by thinking we haven’t been given conflicting information. Or that many of those who have imposed the harshest restrictions have themselves been found in violation.
Our leaders, left and right, have played politics with our health, with our lives.
And we’ve let them.
We’re not out of the woods yet. We’re in a political mess and don’t fool yourself to thinking that a change of
residents on January 20 is going to make it all better. It’s just not.
Thing is, the only thing that’s going to make any of this any better is each of us doing our own part.
No, this is not a mask-wearing sermon. Although you should be doing your part to slow the spread.
It’s a simple acknowledgement that the government is not going to fix this. In fact the government is more likely to make things worse.
So, do what you need to do. Take care of your self, of your family, of your business.
Stay informed. Don’t trust the mainstream media and for heaven’s sake stop hitting “share” on Facebook.
There’s more political drama happening in Washington this week. The vote will be protested, as it should be.
Just because your candidate won or lost doesn’t mean that there wasn’t some hinky stuff going on.
Enough to change the outcome? I don’t know.
The protest on Wednesday will also not change the outcome.
Ironically, I wrote a similar post last year. None of us knew at that point what we’d be facing in 2020. But it’s pretty obvious that not many of us read or took heed to my post.
Myself included.
I wrote:
Still we can each strive to be better. We can turn to a higher power (I’ll even grant you the one of your choice) to ask for help in being better people. Help in being good people.
There’s a lot of talk about the need for kindness and love.
It’s more than posting a meme on Facebook.
In reality there was a lot of not being better people going on last year. I’m not pointing any fingers, and neither should you.
Instead, I’ll think back over how I acted, or reacted during the course of a very, very trying year, and I’ll try to do better.
I know we’re all hoping that 2021 is going to be a better year. But there’s no guarantee.
I’m just going to work in making me better.
Join me.
I mean, not in making me better, in making you better.
We’ve got 361 days to get it right this time.
