So much heaviness hangs over my city as 2021 comes to a close. Mother Nature showed her monstrous side, sending hurricane-force winds to turn sparks into flames and flames into a destructive inferno that ravaged the Denver suburbs of Superior and Louisville. I have a pit in my stomach thinking about the six hundred homes burned to the ground, the families left with nothing. Where's the good? Where's the hope? I was glued to local news channels all night looking for something. It wasn't there. Until the morning dawned. As videos and pictures of destruction filled tv screens and social media sites, there it was. Hope. Families gathering together expressing gratitude that they were alive, vowing to rebuild. Communities coming together offering housing, clothing, food, money, comfort. The governor and local authorities announcing everyone was accounted for, no lives were lost, calling this a New Year's miracle.
As survival stories begin to replace the horrific images, true miracles become clear--the page of a prayer book in the midst of rubble, a horse running to safety propelled by pure instinct, the understanding that nothing is more precious than family.
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| A horse runs through Grasso Park in Superior as smoke and fires approach. Photo: Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images |
Thankfully, family was front and center for me this year. Having gone through almost all of 2020 without being with most of my family members, it felt like Heaven seeing everyone this year. I was able to road trip to Nebraska, and Nebraska and Minnesota family came to Colorado.  |
| Nebraska fam |
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| Mom and Roger |
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| Colorado fam |
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| Colorado and Nebraska fam |
Family truly is everything!Also front and center this past year was being retired. Well sort of. I'm doing some online teaching again this year. I can't help myself! I teach several high school English classes for Hudson Global Scholars. I can design my own schedule and choose which classes I want. We have students and teachers all over the world, and I love getting to know all of them. My family asks why I can't just be retired. I tell them this doesn't feel like work. When it does, I'll stop. |
| My schedule |
Although not enough, I did find time to knit. My big accomplishment this year was a sweater for our Violet. It took me forever, and I almost quit several times, but I finished! It was challenging but fun, and seeing Violet snuggled inside was everything. |
| Oh Violet! |
I can't end without applauding our Jessica for taking a huge leap of faith and moving to England to work on her Masters degree. Not knowing a soul and never having seen the college, she packed up last September, hopped on a jet plane, and despite some drama with flight delays and lost baggage, she is now well into her program and taking Durham University by storm. We all miss her dreadfully, but we are so proud of her. |
| Miss you, Jess! |
2021, although not perfect, brought back some of the normalcy that was missing from my life, and there's hope in that. As I get ready to toast a new year, my heart is with the resilient people of Boulder County who lost so much. May 2022 bring you peace, and may Mother Nature be kinder.Happy New Year!
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| New books and a Christmas Coke (champagne doesn't feel right) |
