I struggled over a topic for today’s blog post. I looked back to see what I blogged about in my year-end blog posts since 2016. It was interesting to read about where my thoughts were the last week of December over the last five years.

December 2016

I made up a reading challenge for 2017.

December 2017

I reported that I’d checked off only 12 of the 19 items on my self-inflicted reading challenge. The title of the post was “Pros and Cons of Reading Challenges.” I found several of each.

December 2018

Here’s the link to my last blog post in 2018, 15 Books that Entertained, Educated, or Changed Me in 2018. I couldn’t believe it had been more than three years since I read some of those books. Some were still fresh in my mind.

December 2019

I was feeling self-reflective as 2019 came to a close. My last post that year was Contentment and Peace in 2020. I thought if I got my to-be-read book list under control, found my niche as a blogger, got my novel on the road to publication, and made time for hobbies, I would find peace and contentment in 2020.

December 2020

At the end of 2020, I decided to look back over the year and answer the question Did I Find Contentment and Peace in 2020?. Of the four prerequisites I listed in the previous paragraph, I didn’t accomplish any.

In all fairness, I didn’t anticipate breaking my leg in January 2020. I didn’t anticipate not being able to put any weight on my right leg for 13 weeks after the break. I didn’t anticipate having a pulmonary embolism in February 2020. I didn’t anticipate the Covid-19 pandemic hitting with full force in March 2020. I didn’t anticipate the death of my lifelong best friend in July 2020.

It was a rough year for every one of us. Interestingly enough, though, in my last blog post of 2020, I concluded that I was fairly content and at peace.

Looking ahead to 2022

As 2021 draws to a close, I don’t have any New Year’s Resolutions to break in 2022. I don’t have a magic number of books I want to read next year or an arbitrary set of categories in which I want to read.

Too many people got sick this year, and too many of them died. It looks like 2022 might bring more of the same.

I think I’ll just keep doing the best I can every day. I’m tired. How about you?

Since my last blog post

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a mistake I made in last week’s blog post, “Responses to “Am I a Sun or Just Another Star?” I misspelled Rebecca Cuningham’s last name. I put two n’s in it instead of just one. I apologize to Rebecca and to any readers who had trouble finding her online due to my error. Check out her blog at fakeflamenco.com. Rebecca spent a semester studying abroad in Toledo. We’ll all look forward to her memoir, Supergringa in Spain.

My sister and I had a nice and quiet Christmas Day. Due to the uptick in Covid-19 cases, we decided to go back to participating in worship services via Facebook, even though we’re fully-vaccinated and boosted. We both have underlying conditions that increase our risk of serious illness if we catch the virus.

I’ve done a lot of reading, but I don’t think I can finish reading the 900-page Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon. My eyes are giving out!

Until my next blog post

I plan to do the best I can each day. I want to read when I feel like it, write when I can, and stop eating so many Christmas cookies.

I hope you have a good book to read.

Janet