Closing the book on 2020, and welcoming 2021 feels hopeful, and therefore amazing.

Last night, we said goodbye to 2020. And we did it with a round of Happy New Year’s texts, plus phone & zoom calls to family and friends, wonderful snacks, and maybe one bottle too many of pink champagne…

Earlier in the day, we packed up all the Christmas decor to give us a clean new palette.

We also smudged every nook & cranny of our home & garage to kick out any leftover bad juju from 2020, and to embrace 2021 with clear intentions and good mojo.

Here’s the Beginner’s Guide to Smudging Your Home if you’re interested. We made our own smudge sticks from our herb garden. Though white sage is most commonly mentioned, you may choose many other herbs.

In leaving 2020 behind, I do acknowledge there were good things that happened. These are the first ten that popped into my mind.

One, the election is over. I am done doomscrolling. Hallelujah!

Two, I discovered Schitt’s Creek on Netflix and it’s worth it. Prepare to grin.

I also managed to squeeze in Bridgerton and His Dark Materials recently, along with a few Christmas movies. I highly recommend Holidate as my favorite 2020 holiday flick, even over The Santa Chronicles 2.

But wait, Jingle Jangle was magical and also super fun.

Three, on the last day of 2020, we started our first jigsaw puzzle ever which opened up a whole new world. Oh, boy.

Four, my new best friend is a Paperwhite Kindle gift from my husband, and it steals me away for long periods of time.

Five, I retired. This created so many more things to be thankful for – time in the garden, time to reconnect (albeit mainly virtually and by mail) with friends and family, no need to ever wear another underwire bra in the foreseeable future (Am I right?), and primarily time to rekindle old & explore new passions. Have I mentioned I discovered savory scones?

Six, we got to watch baseball. Even for a shortened season, it was fun.

Seven, before the pandemic began, I made a trip to LA for a screenwriting conference, and got to meet a dear friend in person, along with other wonderful new connections.

Eight, I value even more my husband, and all that he does for me and for us. He’s a wonder and a treasure, and he makes me laugh, no matter what. All this time home alone together has us playing games, cooking as a team, and listening to each other. Our world has slowed down.

Nine, the old writing synapses are firing up and snapping again.

Ten, we are using this time to figure out what we want to do in retirement when the world opens up.

Taking the time to figure things out ties in with my New Year’s resolutions. How has this pandemic-stay-home-period changed our priorities? What are we going to do when we venture out again? How are we going to do it?

For us, with the pandemic still raging, we are content. We enjoy our time together, and with our animal family. We’ve become more savvy to the ways of our sneaky cat.

My main goals for 2021 are to:

*Hone my writing voice and prevail in my niche.

*Keep learning new things such as combining birdwatching & hiking for starters. Zentangle is also on my list.

*Decrease our clutter/baggage. Have you heard of Swedish döstädning? There is a book and many articles on it, one of which is here.

When an attendee at one of my zoom meetings commented that my studio looked like a hardware store in the background, I knew it was past time to figure that out. (No, I’m not sharing a photo of the before until I have the after ready.)

*And of course… fitness. Doing exercises together at home can be fun. Right? I’m looking forward to the pickleball courts reopening when the weather permits.

Later today, we’ll celebrate this coming year with a New Year’s Day Southern tradition that includes Hoppin’ Johns for wealth & prosperity by combining pork & black-eyed peas, cornbread for gold, collard greens for good fortune, and (at least) 12 green grapes for 12 months of good health.

I’m not sure where Bloody Mary’s fit in, but pretty sure the green of the olives represent something… Mine might be virgin today.

However the year begins for you, I hope your 2021 is full of promise and excitement, along with good health, good luck, and good fortune & prosperity.

Rabbit, rabbit to you! ~ GJDB

PS: That first pic of the charging rabbit was the finished scene in a paint-by-numbers kit. That is not something I intend to learn.