New Years Past, Present, And Future

 

Well, this year can just go.......... You fill in the blank. We missed Thanksgiving with the kids because we got Covid. We are gonna miss Christmas Dinner together because of this weather and travel conditions. It could be worse. 2020 thru 2022 have been tough years. Sickness has ruled the land, or at least the Eldridges part of it. I hope 2023 does a better job. I like it when everything runs smooth. Shush!!! Don’t say that out loud, Karma!

We are not the only folks on the planet to have a tough year. There have been many tough years through the ages. It is the nature of our human frailty. I don’t know anyone personally who will get out of it alive. I know a few who act like they are gonna fly away but I don’t trust them and you shouldn’t either. I send up a prayer for all those who have it better or worse than me. Back in the middle ages the Black Death caused such a decline in population that the surviving population had opportunities for land and prosperity. It was such good times afterwards that they named it the Age of Enlightenment. Good times, generally always follow bad. So, I try not to get too caught up into how bad things are.

I had a good friend who lived through the depression. He told me that “we didn’t know there was a depression because nobody had anything and everyone I knew was in the same boat.” They just thought it was life as usual in Central Appalachia.  Mom used to be ashamed that she only had a biscuit to take to school for lunch when the other kids had the new “light bread,” such that she would throw her lunch away before she got to school and just say she wasn’t hungry. She said they celebrated the New Year by roasting taters in the coal grate and popping Indian corn. They would sit up till midnight and at midnight would go out and fire 3 shots into the air. Get a drink of cold water and go to bed, exciting times for sure.

When I was a kid the TV went off at Midnight, well at least the 3 channels we got anyway. We would watch the celebration in some city far away from Appalachia and wonder what it was like to live in such a big town. We moved to Detroit and it became evident that living in a big town wasn’t all celebrations and happiness. But, it wasn’t bone crushing poverty either, been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Even in Detroit the television and radio stations shut down at midnight. After the New Year was rung in the station would play the national anthem and we would go outside and shoot a pack or two of firecrackers and then it was off to bed.

We celebrate New Years at our house here on the homestead in these times too. We are not exciting people. We make trays of cut cheeses, smoked sausages, smoked oysters, crackers and some kind of dessert and we make enough for everyone. We sit up and laugh and eat and laugh and eat some more. Sometimes we will break out our own vintage of wine – Chokecherry is a family favorite. Crystal and I manage to make it till midnight. We turn on the TV 15 minutes before midnight and we all watch the ball drop. The music before the ball is seldom to my liking anymore but I bet my dad said the same thing. After that the kids stay up to the wee hours of the morning laughing and talking and eating some more as Crystal and I, being light weights, crash into dream land.

I don’t know what the future holds. I do know that most New Years’ resolutions don’t last into February. My resolution this year is to be more consistent with my exercises to help my ms and to try and do just a little more on the homestead. The last couple of years I have just not sprung back from my ailments very well. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to be. 60 Looms large in a couple of months. I have never dreaded an age like I dread 60.  Dad died at 67 and Mom Died at 69. I am not afraid of dying I just don't want to right now. I do know I want to celebrate a lot more birthdays without a lot a sickness though. I also hope we move into a new Age of Enlightenment since the danged Covid pandemic.

Every year on the channel we take a break from all social media in January. Kind of like a resolution but it only lasts till February. This includes Youtube, Facebook and Our Blog. So this will be my last blog entry until the 1^st Wednesday in February 2023.  I hope that this new year brings you all that you can hope for. I also hope that it brings on a little enlightenment we could sure use a little! But what I mainly hope is that you understand, like I have come to, that Life, Like Homesteading, is a Marathon Not a Sprint – Slow Down and Enjoy the Ride.   

Be Certain to Visit our Homesteading Channel on Youtube at http://Youtube.com/c/collegehillfarm  as we create and live on a modern homestead like our ancestors before us. Also check out and add your name to follow our weekly blog channel at https://collegehillfarm.blogspot.com so you do not miss our weekly ponderings on the past, present and future and on our Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/College-Hill-Farm-295659074295747