Trading in a New Year

Well, we've made it to another year.  After 2020, many figured that 2021 could only move upwards after the world was rocked by the worst pandemic in a century that changed and/or shut down life for practically everyone.  And while 2021 was better in some ways--vaccines arrived, Disney parks reopened, live events resumed, among other developments--it was also very similar to 2020 in that we all still had to live under the specter of the Coronavirus.  In fact, there were more deaths in the United States from the Coronavirus this past year than in 2020, which means that more people suffered loss from the dominating issue of the past two years last year versus the previous.  Add to that the fact that our society remains divided and in conflict and seemingly filled with more and more bad news (heck, even the indestructible Betty White passed away yesterday!) and it's understandable for anyone to feel like 2021 was still a mentally and emotionally taxing slog of a year that warrants bidding good riddance.

Well, I can't promise that 2022 will be better, though I hope it will.  But as we transition to a new year, we can hopefully try to leave the baggage and junk of 2021 behind and embrace new opportunities and hopefully new triumphs in the upcoming year.  I think we can all say cheers to moving forward and having a better future after such a challenging past couple of years for all of us!

Trader Sam's Gift Shop includes a variety of knick-knacks and trinkets and souvenirs for anyone interested.  Hey, what's trash for some might be treasure for another!