I have been thinking about this post for most of 2021.
I hesitate because no one likes a person who constantly complains, feels marginalized, or generally comes off as miserable.
I am none of those things because some wise peer back in the mid seventies told me to stop complaining and always say thank-you.
Another reason I have been holding out is that I do not want this post coming across as some kind of anxiety ridden therapy journal.
The clock I speak of in the title of this post is only circumstantially related to the New Year.
I opened this file several days ago. I began with the title, Running Out the Clock, and found a nice image from Unsplash as a header. Then, in an effort to plan this post, I opened the Tag Section of the text editor, Gutenberg, and began adding tags.
As I sit at my keyboard with the Tag Box open I see where this indeed could turn out to be another Therapy Journal.
For example, the tags at this moment in time…
Covid, lag time, hibernation, the time of no time, into the darkness, melancholy and the Big Lie. Looking at the list, I can’t remember why I added Lag Time and Into the Darkness. I may never know what that was about.
Running Out the Clock
I wish the World we are leaving to our descendants will be better than the one we are currently holding. I think that is a wish, hope, all humans share for those who come next.
You all know about climate change, the state of our roads and bridges and our Government. Who would have thought we would set ourselves back a few decades while a rich, white guy, from New York, conned us into Making America Great Again. This is what happens when we relate to our Government as though it is a Reality Show.
For most of my life, three things have come up, year after year. The first being the Electoral College, the second, the state of our infrastructure and third, abolishing Daylight Savings Time and Standard Time.
You all know about the Worldwide Pandemic. I almost allowed myself to relax when the first vaccines became available. Freedom to mingle. Then, it turned out, we can still get and spread this thing with the consolation prize being, our probability of hospitalization and death became less. We still have to be careful. Mask up. Don’t crowd the stage. The vaccine did lower the death rate of people most at risk. But, I don’t feel consoled. I am sure this is never going to end. As long as it is out there it is going to mutate. Covid29 is going to look very different that Coved19. Eventually, the anti-vaxers will settle down and go along with recommendations. Remember the Tea Party Movement of 2009. I haven’t heard from them and I suspect they found new focus. It is hard to keep a grassroots movement thriving over time.
The most difficult thing about my disappointment, and mourning for my country is the lack of comfort from everyone else. I am not met with, “Oh, Sally, things will get better.” No one has stepped up to say, “You are right, this is a mess. This is bad. I am disappointed. I am grieving, too.” I am met with silence.
Three Good things about the World Going to Hell in a Handbasket:
- Working from Home turned out to be a popular trend.
- Having Groceries Delivered Curbside or to Our Doors also flourished.
- For those of us who prefer the introverted life-style, Social Distancing is a Perfect Phenomenon.
This ends the post I didn’t want to share and it does, indeed, read like a Therapy Journal.