Have you heard the song?
Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
Till the rain comes tumblin' down
Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones
Man is made of dreams and bones
Feel the need to grow my own
'Cause the time is close at hand
I was surprised to hear it was written by John Denver. I always thought it was Pete Seeger. Nope.
It's a new year, 2024, and while I don't make resolutions (who needs to be disappointed?) I do like to reflect. I'll be sixty seven this summer, which is an odd thing, and yet not. Like most of us, I feel to be much younger in my mind if not my body.
It occurs to be that the years have been teaching me patience and self-love. I have overcome huge obstacles and know that, no matter what, I am resilient as hell.
I am moving along, reaching out and making new friends; enjoying activities however small. I don't venture too far from home these days. Mostly because I have a newish dog and don't want to leave her. Also because, although I do love people, paradoxically they annoy me no end. The thought of air travel is daunting. Have you seen the mess at the airports? A sea of humanity. No thanks for now.
I try to get friends from California to come to me. A couple did, and they contracted Covid while visiting their son before coming north to my place. Maybe caught it in the airport, we don't know. It was a miserable "vacation" for them, stuck in a hotel room and not well enough to fly home immediately. Though the peak of the pandemic is passed, I personally know many people who have been sick with it in the last few months. It's a miracle I haven't had it (knock on wood). Perhaps it's my religious adherence to booster shots and the fact that I don't hang out in large crowds of people.
In case you missed it, this is the two year anniversary of the attempted coup in Washington D.C. 45's treachery is well known even though a third of the country refuses to acknowledge it. Liz Cheney's book, "Oath and Honour" is out but you know that die-hard MAGA folks are not going to read it. And so it goes.
On a Zoom call this morning, I told my friends that I don't get too exercised over politics these days. I've been engaged over the decades and I'm laying it aside. Of course I observe, and talk with friends about it, but it is up to younger folks to step into the fray. I'm tired and tired of it.
I hope your holidays were what you wished for. Happy New Year, filled with peace and contentment, from me to you.
