2021 is here! Hallelujah! I don't think there has ever been another year in history that everyone in the entire world has wanted to see gone more than the year 2020!
Usually, at the end of December, we are all saying, "Where has the time gone?" But this year has seemed to have lasted FOREVER! And sadly, we look back and have very few memories of anything, for we have not been able to conduct our lives as we normally do.
2020 was hard on all of us. Although my businesses didn't close down, I have a lot of friends whose businesses did have to shut down and they suffered a lot more than I have. I have friends that lost their jobs and I have friends that are still unemployed because of the shutdowns. I have had friends that endured the coronavirus; some wouldn't have even known they had it if it hadn't been for a positive test result; some only knew because they lost their taste and smell; some had very mild symptoms; while others became very sick. But my biggest heartbreak, of 2020, was losing my friend, Joe Diffie, to complications brought on by the coronavirus.
Through all the trials and tribulations of this past year, God was still very present in my life. God blessed me with another year of good health, He has kept my businesses alive and still growing, blessed me with the opportunity to start a brand-new newspaper, the Riverbend News, and, of course, still continued to bless my family beyond measure in all other aspects.
But, MY biggest news of 2020 … was the birth of my grandson, Logan Michael Riley. I dedicated my column to him, just a few weeks ago, when he was born. He is, by far, my best and happiest thing for the entire year of 2020.
He is now almost three weeks old and is already growing and changing so fast. It is a true miracle to watch the growth of a baby/child.
I raised two daughters and have a two-year-old granddaughter. So, with the birth of this new grandson I enter into an unexplored territory. I grew up as a tomboy with two brothers and my two daughters both grew up as tomboys who also loved sports, four-wheelers and hunting; but I foresee myself needing to throw a football more and participating in more rambunctious activities, with Logan, than my past and present children activity knowledge, that I have.
So, as we leave 2020 behind us and embrace the opportunity to begin 2021 with a fresh perspective and a sense of optimism, let's all leave behind the hurts and disappointments of the year; but let's bring forward our happiness and joy we found throughout the year. I, for one, have a lot to look forward to!
As I enter into 2021, I will pray for my family and their health … for my family is my backbone. I will pray for strength, courage and wisdom to make 2021 all it should be. And I will pray for myself … to become everything God wants me to be and for me to be the best that I can possibly be!
I pray these same things for all of you, our faithful readers. Thank you for spending another year with us.
Please remember to give us a call or email us if you have anything you would like covered or if you have something that you think we should know about. We would love to hear from you! My wish for 2021, as a business, is that we can grow and cover YOUR news even more fully than we do now!
Happy New Year to all of our faithful readers. May God bless each and every one of you!