Happy New Year! Here’s hoping that 2021 brings us all a much happier, brighter, healthier and more sociable year.

We have all been through a very rough 9 months with Covid-19 affecting all of us in one way or another. Many of us have been ill or have family members who have been, and even worse, have lost family or friends to this horrific virus. We have been in quarantine, been made to wear masks in public, learn to social distance at least 6 feet from others, and have been forced to give up visiting family and friends, including those in the hospital or nursing home. Those of us who do not live with our children are not even able to give them a hug or a kiss, and these things are so difficult for the social beings that we are to accept. But remember, this too shall pass and we will be looking back at this period of time with memories and stories, just like we have the recollections of living through the Blizzard of ’78, or our parents did with the Great Depression. There will be a time when we will all be able to laugh at the shortages of toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and cleaning supplies, and will probably still have a run on them during flu season like we do for milk and bread during snowstorm warnings. In the future, people will laugh about it and even ask why we do it, but we will understand having lived through it.

In the meantime, as this works it way out and they find a way to bring us back to normal life, let’s all just keep an eye out on each other. It is important that we all make sure our neighbors and friends are okay, that the isolation is not taking a toll on them mentally as well as physically, and that we help each other out when we can. Make a phone call, send a card, email or text message, anything to say “I care” and to check up on each other. Thank you to everyone who has stayed in touch on our FB page, keeping each other in our lives and letting each of us know that someone cares. Together, we can get through anything!

Then, when this is over, let’s all plan on attending one big reunion so we can all see each other again, give each other a big hug and enjoy the fact that we can all share in good times together, in one space. It will happen, just believe and pray to our wonderful Lord our God that it happens soon. If nothing else, this virus has certainly showed us how resilient we can all be, and reminded all of us just how precious life, and these moments we are able to spend together, really are. Bless you all, stay safe, and be happy! St. Pat’s girls rock!

Have a great January!