Thank you to all of YOU who keep me writing, sharing, and trying to encourage hope and new ways of thinking. Attempting to help through this column, even though I no longer have a Counseling Center, has been and continues to be a gift. For over nine years, you have opened the South Platte Sentinel, found my picture, and given me time. You have thanked me in person, passed kind words through my family, and sent emails and messages. You keep me writing.

Mental health is a broad and critical aspect of most anything or everything in life. Even when our physical health fails us, our mental health can keep us smiling, acting kind, and showing compassion to ourselves and others. Every day, you are on my mind because a deadline rolls around each Friday, beckoning a finished article YOU might find interesting. YOU occupy my thoughts.

On this Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, I am not writing but sharing a poem sent to me online. It is relevant to the year we have had, and it made me smile. I don’t know who wrote it, but a friend and fellow author, Roy Voss, included me in an email forward. If you like suspenseful mysteries with powerful and passionate characters, his books are available on Amazon.

Enjoy this untitled (slightly altered) poem, and Merry Christmas to YOU

T’was two days before Christmas,
And all through the town,
People wore masks,
That covered their frown.
The frown had begun
Way back in the Spring,
When a global pandemic
Changed everything.
They called it Corona,
But unlike the beer,
It didn’t bring good times,
It didn’;t bring cheer.
Airplanes were grounded,
Travel was banned.
Borders were closed
Across air, sea and land.
As the world entered lockdown
To flatten the curve,
The economy halted,
And folks lost their nerve.
From March to July
We rode the first wave,
People stayed home,
They tried to behave.
When summer emerged
The lockdown was lifted.
But away from caution,
Many folks drifted.
Now it’s December
And cases are spiking,
Wave two has arrived,
Much to our disliking.
It’s true that this year
Has had sadness a plenty,
We’ll never forget
The year 2020.
And just ’round the corner –
The holiday season,
But why be merry?
Is there even one reason?
To decorate the house
And put up the tree,
Who will see it,
No one but me.
But outside my window
The snow gently falls,
And I think to myself,
Let’s deck the halls!
So, I gather the ribbon,
The garland and bows,
As I play those old carols,
My happiness grows.
Christmas is not cancelled
And neither is hope.
If we lean on each other,
I know we can cope

Until the next time: Live while you live.

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