A Million Little Pieces Of My Mind

So we hit the sack around ten; and when we awoke, it wasn't just a new day. It was a new year!

Personally, I don't see an end to the coronavirus pandemic any time soon. The vaccines will help, obviously. But Trump wasted a year sitting on his ass at the Mar-A-Lago golf course instead of trying to do anything to save the people who voted for him. In fact, he literally held no-mask rallies designed to infect as many of his followers as possible.

But…I'm safe. My husband is safe. My family, while most of whom are on the mainland (my grandson Zach is here on the property with us), are smart enough to be careful and masked. So they're relatively safe, too.

This horse lives near the Hasegawa General Store in Hana. In fact, I was parked in their lot when I took the photo, and I sent it to my daughter. "The kids know exactly who that horse is, and where it lives!" she said. When they visited, thelittle ones would pet it.

We also have feral chickens; we hear roosters doing their cock-a-doodle-doo thing for half the night. But this is the first time I spotted a mommy with her brood of little ones.

Then we had a visit from our neighbors, Rob and Olivia, with their dogs (who love to play with ours. The one facing us is Sampson, an older gent with a heart condition (but also a heart full of love). The puppy is Lilo.

Because I'm the Dog Whisperer, they almost always warm right up to me.

And so, that was Day 1 of the new year. Peaceful, filled with gentle animal encounters and pleasant conversation in an outdoors, socially-distanced setting. May the rest of the year be as good!

I know so many people who are not happy right now. And I feel bad for them, and I wish I could do something to make them feel better. But I can't, because no one else and no "thing" can make a person happy. Happiness comes from within, and a person has to accept it and embrace it.

That said, I'm as happy at this moment as I've ever been. I could say it's because Keith is with me, or that the dogs are happy, or that I'm living the dream off-grid in paradise.

But that's all the good parts, and ignores the many issues we have to deal with every day. Like, not enough money, not enough living space, using a paint bucket as a toilet and having to travel a tenth of a mile to take a more-or-less hot shower.

But those things are minor, and not enough to sully the awesome time I'm having.