Happy New Year, my friends. I am grateful to have made it yet another year among you and am also pleased to see 2021 come to a close. Of course, we don’t quite know what to expect in 2022, but I am hopeful we’ll all see some settling of this pandemic and forward movement back into everyday life. That would be a great treat, I know, for us all.

I would like to count my blessings for this past year. Here are just a few things that come immediately to mind that I’m thankful for (in no order of importance):

1. My family remains healthy. This is a great relief.
2. Our various business enterprises are stable. Another huge relief.
3. I had the great fortune of working with two of my daughters at least part-time this year: Liz with Story Circle Network and Rachael as part of our eBay business.
4. I spent quality time with my kids, sons-in-law (and one boyfriend), and grandkids. This is so much more than many people can say right now and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to enjoy my dear ones on a regular basis.
5. Ray and I spent a fair amount of time at our orange grove this year, which brings me a real sense of peace.
6. We also had a chance to return to Texas after fourteen months away and were able to work there at our home and our bank building. There was (and remains) much to do at both places due to our time away due to Covid.)
7. I had a chance to see my relatives in Texas and my relatives in Utah during the year, which made me very happy.
8. I had the chance to serve as the president of Story Circle Network this year (and will for the next), which has been a real growth experience for me. It has also brought some lovely women into my life, which has been wonderful.
9. I taught a class on Toni Morrison’s Beloved and had an amazing experience learning from that book and sharing what I learned with my students.
10. Liz and I hosted 10 webinars this past year for SCN and I learned all about Zoom and webinars, which was quite a learning curve for me.
11. I resumed my blog and have been pretty faithful about writing daily since I returned after a few months away during Covid time.
12. I revisited my memoir turned novel, submitted it to a New York agent who requested the full manuscript, and was turned down. (Though she did say she admired my writing.) I now have a plan to approach a few other agents and publishing companies who handle similar books.
13. I unexpectedly saw my beloved writing mentor, John Rechy,and had the chance to have a brief, but lovely conversation with him. This was a huge treat.
14. I had one of my pieces that I originally wrote for my 20 Minutes a Day blog accepted for the Real Women Write anthology.
15. I had two of my blog pieces accepted for publication on Herstories blog at SCN.
16. I had one of the best years ever with my college/graduate school essay students, with many interviews and acceptances for them to multiple colleges, medical schools, law schools, and medical residency programs. Some of my students also were offered impressive scholarships.
17. I set up my little office upstairs in my home where I am surrounded by my favorite books.
18. Our family traveled to Massachusetts over the summer and visited one of our oldest and dearest friends and his family for over a week.
19. I volunteered to begin a St. Thomas the Apostle writing group, which has turned out to be an absolute delight.
20. I had the chance to visit an old friend in Chicago and visit the Chicago Art Institute before having the worst case of food poisoning of my life.
21. I have managed to keep off the ten pounds I lost as a result of the food poisoning.
22. I have enjoyed many communications with friends, near and far, through Facebook and texts, which have sustained me over the year.
23. I have read several books that I’ve enjoyed immensely, which brings another level of joy to my life.
24. I have organized a lot of eBay business merchandise and am learning more about that business.
25. I wrote a song with brother Sam that helped me to stretch and grow as a novice songwriter.

I’m sure there are a hundred other things (probably some big ones) that I have completely forgotten about here. However, in an effort for this not to turn into a novel-length blog post, I will wrap up my list.

Best wishes to all of you, my friends. I have enjoyed learning about your lives through Facebook, WordPress, and email, and hope to continue sharing this upcoming year.  

Here’s to love, peace, and good health for all in 2022. Happy New Year to you and to your families.

(I’ll be checking back in with you again tomorrow.)