The Good Things Jar

Did you empty your Good Things in 2021 jar? I found forty-seven slips of paper, almost one Good Thing a week! Not bad for a pandemic year, and I do think being vigilant about gratitude helped me get through 2021.

It was also an unusual year, since I moved from Wisconsin to North Carolina, and there were so many new experiences.

One entry read, “Received my second Moderna shot! I am fully vaccinated!” Another excitement: “New washing machine came!”

Quite a few entries revolved around grandkids.

• “Went to Build-A-Bear with H.”

• “Had a lunch date with N.”

• “B got a personal-best time at his Cross-Country Meet.”

• “Fabulous trip to Washington DC with J.”

Friends were equally important.

• “M drove up to visit me from Atlanta. My first friend visit.”

• “Two quilted hot pads from J in the mail.”

• “Met my first North Carolina friend at the clubhouse. She is a Nancy, too.”

• “ZOOM call with Milwaukee bridge buddies."

And times with family, including

• A successful trip to Washington state (meaning no one got COVID-19!)

• Mother’s Day brunch at my apartment

• Going out to eat a few times (fewer than in a normal year)

• Driving into the mountains to visit one of my sisters

• Taking Amtrak to Virginia to see another sister

• First trip to the Outer Banks (OBX, they call it here) with my son and his family

It was uplifting to look back over all the good times for which to be thankful.

I hope you found your Good Things jar inspiring and have your 2022 jar ready to go.

And here’s another fun thing to do this year. Have you ever “forced” bulbs, like tulips and daffodils, to grow inside? (Forcing means to trick the bulbs that winter is over, to get them to bloom.) Last fall I put four tulip bulbs in a brown lunch sack and placed the bag in the back of my refrigerator. I wrote the date “January 10” on the bag, which gave the bulbs a 14-week chilling period. Now, they are ready to plant inside and, hopefully, give me some colorful cheer. I’ll take a picture if they give me good results.

You have all my good wishes for happy and fulfilling times in 2022.