New Year, New Hope

1/1/2021

Today is the first day of 2021. Last year was exceptionally hard and we are all looking for some reassurance that this year will be better. We can only hope that our days of mask wearing and social distancing will end. Sadly we don't know what's to come and what will happen in the future. We can just raise our glasses (of sparkling grape juice) as a toast to a new year. We will work together to make it awesome.

Sorry to get off to such a serious start. I am Rori. I come from a giant family full of every kind of person you can imagine ‒ actually, mostly just artsy people. We have painters, singers, dancers, cake decorators and more. My family does just about everything. I have one aunt who does flowers (Vivian), one aunt who does cakes (Valerie), and a cousin who does photography (Joe). You save a lot of money on wedding planning that way.

At the beginning of 2021, like every year, I started thinking about the past year and everything that happened. Typically I laugh at everything weird that has happened, but this year was different. There was too much to laugh at that it could be overwhelming and crazy. I think we all know that 2020 wasn't the best year, Covid-19 is just one word that now makes you cringe. Pandemic, face mask, wildfires, election, cancelation, protests, murder hornets, and many, many more do the same. They all have one factor in common: fear. What if I catch Covid? What if the wrong candidate wins? What if...? We just need to trust God, and He will help us through this new year. I honestly think the worst part of 2020 was not seeing my family during the holidays.

I remember the last day of 2016. We had a big party with all our friends and family. It was loud and crazy but lots of fun. This was the same day I met some of my best friends, Micah and Malachi. I remember bringing a tub of cheese balls to the family room where they were sitting and Micah saying he couldn't eat dairy. Mali took deep handfuls of cheese balls, filling a cup to the brim. A few weeks later I met their sister Marcail. We are still very good friends.

Now I lie around and think about 2020. The beginning of that year was very different. No one was thinking about wearing masks. Life was normal then. I feel that I was naïve at that point and I was too comfortable with what I had. To think I didn't know what was gonna happen in 2020! Crazy thought! If I could go back to that moment when my mom and I were eating ice cream and watching the ball drop, I would have told myself everything that would happen, and of course, to stock up on toilet paper.

So again, let's be as happy and grateful as we can be this year. Let's remember that whatever happens, we should trust God and never question His decisions. He does things for a reason and He knows more than we do. Even if the next year is as awful as the last, we must be thankful‒not upset about what we had and lost, but thankful for what we have.