2021...And Now 2022: What's Next?

      2021: "The Year of the Unexpected."

     We spent the winter in Arizona -- and the fall in Michigan. Both weren't exactly planned...but important.

      It's the first of the new year -- and we're still in Michigan. The fifth-wheel is parked in our folks' barnyard, largely shut down for the winter. We've been 'camping' in the house since the first part of December. 

The Mama is back in the hospital -- for the the fourth time since July. Once again, it's serious. 

What will happen the next few weeks? What will happen in coming months?

      We don't know.

      What we do know is that we're supposed to be in Michigan. And we're meant to stay and help care for The Mama.

     I've brought in very little income in the past few months -- I had to cancel everything to come to Michigan, and have had to turn down a lot of appraisal income because I wasn't there to do it in Colorado. Book royalties only came for the period before Colorado Curiosities came out -- some, but not what I'd expected. (Those should happen early in 2022.) I planned some talks to help sell the books. (Which were cancelled.) Sold some books, anyways.

     Our regular income has held steady throughout the year: the Brick's pension, and both of our Social Security checks. Although we took some big hits, thanks to the truck, our emergency fund is slowly building back up. And we haven't had to touch a penny of our investments with Lord & Richards. That takes some of the sting out of our current situation. 

      The other wonderful part: being with family we love. Usually we're in Michigan for a few weeks -- and a quick visit, if we're lucky. These past months have let us spend hours with them, instead, with no worries about rushing. We love our cousins and family. We love spending time with them.

      We've also been able to rest -- a rare quality nowadays. I realized that I can push myself into poor health. I don't always exercise like I should, or get the sleep needed. Being with The Mama has often entailed waiting for long periods. Maybe this was God's way of getting both of us to rest more. 

      I don't have many goals for 2022. Not knowing what's in the near future means we can't plan much. We'd both love to travel more, but the Covid-19 business makes planning difficult. Even if you test negative, what can you do if your plane flights are unexpectedly cancelled?  Or your cruise ship can't dock at the cities you booked the cruise for? (Shades of the 2020 world cruise.)

   We'll continue to do what we've already committed to: stay with The Mama, sing/play at church on Sundays, do the usual rounds of everyday life.

    I want to read more. Clear away extra clothes and books from the fifth-wheel...and figure out ways to make our current living area more efficient. I'd like to sort through storage...and have a huge sale, to bring in income and get rid of more STUFF. 

    I've got some teaching/judging gigs coming up in the summer and fall. Hopefully more appraisals to do. 

    I plan to keep collecting stories for another Curiosities -- this time about Michigan. And keep spending time with The Mama and our family.  

    That -- for now -- is enough.