3
d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 0
As this issue goes to print, we've just been through a tumultuous election
(we all knew that was going to happen, right?), and, according to the CDC,
(www.CDC.gov), states are continuing to break daily records of Covid-19
cases (over 160,000/day). Add to that the fact that a large amount of
the American West burnt down this year, and that we've had more big
storms coming off the Atlantic than any previous year and, yes, 2020
was possibly the hottest year on record, worldwide. However, two of the
world's largest pharmaceutical companies have just announced that their
Covid-19 vaccines appear to be 90% and 95% effective against the disease,
giving all of us hope for a possible end in sight to this terrible pandemic.
Many people I know are looking forward to saying goodbye(!) to the year
2020, and hello(!) to the new year, 2021. Tennyson's quote on the cover
reflects that thought and, since Alfred Lord Tennyson died in 1892, we
know this longing for a better tomorrow isn't new. I've read a lot of history
and I know for certain that, despite it all, our lives are far better than
those of our ancestors.
Once, while I was in college, I was lamenting over one thing or another,
adding with a longing sigh, "I can't wait for tomorrow/Friday/the weekend/
Spring break/graduation!" Honestly, I can't even remember what I was
complaining about or wishing for, but I'll never forget my good friend's
response, "Don't wish your time away." Really wise words, in my opinion,
coming from a then-20-year-old.
That thought has stayed with me ever since. For example, when I
was monetarily making next-to-nothing early in my career in NYC, but
enjoying the delicious taste of being self-sufficient, added to the new-found
freedom of early adulthood... when my husband and I were raising our
young children, thoroughly exhausted much of the time, but thrilled to be
parents of three wonderful human beings... when both of us were working
2-3 jobs each to support them, but making it work... during every winter
when all the leaves are brown and the sky is gray, but it's beautiful... in
the middle of the stress of our children's college searches and the ensuing
college application process, but thrilled with the results... and so on.
Since this issue is going to print before Thanksgiving and Christmas,
I still have no idea what my family is doing for those holidays. While we
really want to be with more of the extended family to celebrate and to
console one another (we've lost several loved ones this past year as, I'm
guessing, you have too), I think it might be just us. We'll figure it out. In
the meantime, I'm going to make a concerted effort to enjoy this day, this
hour, this minute – as it is. I hope you can too.
Carol
Beder's
from
SHADES | MOTORIZED SHADES | BLINDS | DRAPES | PLANTATION SHUTTERS
You Deserve Them!
908.236.2688
14 Lebanon Plaza
n
WindowExpressionsNJ.net
OUR
ADVERTISERS
SUPPORT
US.
PLEASE
HELP US
BY
SUPPORTING
THEM.
21 Cratetown Road • Lebanon, NJ 08833
(908) 735-8336 • winneday@ptd.net
Visit winnewald.com
Now Enrolling 2021 Campers
th
70 Summer Season - Ages 4-13
In the of Hunterdon County
Employment Opportunities
Available
–– Julie Flynn
Wishing You and Yours
Comfort & Joy
during this
Christmas & Hanukkah season.
