Yesterday, I woke up early, in the mood to write, full of vibrant promise and cooking plans. None of them got accomplished beyond the writing, because the rest of the family had other ideas on what they wanted for dinner.
It happens.
Instead of my home cooking, what everyone else wanted was tacos and delicious food from Tacqueria Lou Lou, our local favorite Mexican place. So I didn't have to cook, but got a delicious meal anyway. I'm calling it a win.
2020 has just been the pits, hasn't it?
We watched a year in retrospective about this year's losses in terms of famous and not-so-famous folks, and it had me in tears yesterday evening. I was fine until they got to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Congressman John Lewis, and then I totally lost it. Everyone we know who has been sick, everything we've had to do constantly to stay well, the stress, the exhaustion of trying to teach through all of this, worrying constantly about all of the kids that I teach and whether I'm doing enough to help them through all of this. It has just been a lot this year, and I'll be glad to see the end of it, to be honest.
The slow cooker red beans and rice (from yesterday's post discussion) and my plans for spicy chicken thighs and collard greens are waiting for New Year's Day. For New Year's Eve tonight, we are doing family games and nibbles, and saying a big goodbye to the worst year any of us can remember.
The Peanut asked for some buffalo chicken dip, so that's a definite for today. Beyond that we have a motley assortment of things: charcuterie, cheeses, fruit, random frozen appetizers that we can pop in the oven, you name it.
This year, the name of the game for me is that it has to be easy, yummy, and something we love. We are starting off the new year with laughter and yummy nibbles, and we are kicking the crazy of 2020 to the curb with gusto.
Every year, I try to make a few resolutions about things that I'd like to improve or change for the better. This year, I'd like to just survive, find a way to laugh more, eat more vegetables and fruits, and try to write every day. Not a lot. Not a grand, sweeping agenda of awesomeness. But after 2020, it's more than enough.
Please, let 2021 have more blessings and fewer sorrows, and let us figure out a way through this virus and through our divisions to a place of health and community spirit. We could really, really use more of that in the new year. I find that it is easier to find common ground and purpose if you eat a meal together -- so maybe, when we finally can, we all try to reach out and work on building our communities a little stronger. It would at least be a start.
Happy New Year, everyone!
(Photo of beignets taken by me in some long, long ago trip to New Orleans at the delicious Cafe du Monde. I can almost smell the hot, fried dough and powdered sugar just looking at the photo.)
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