I believe that 2022 is going to be a big year, big good, big bad is of course the question, but I believe big never the less. The first thing to acknowledge of course is that at the moment we are seeing the highest umber of COVID infections since the pandemic began two years ago. Happily, due to vaccines and better treatments, hospitalizations and particularly deaths have not similarly spiked. We still are looking at 1500 deaths a day, which is horrible, but that number has not spiked the same way cases have, one day recently we had 1,000,000 positive COVID results in one day. However in particularly bad spots hospitalizations have risen high enough to impact the ability for hospitals to function and this is still a problem.

As such of course a lot of us are beginning to once again have significant work disruptions. My college is shifting to virtual meetings this week and has an emergency board meeting this Tuesday night to see if we will be going to full virtual instruction as well. So regardless of what is decided, we are looking at another chaotic start to another semester in the pandemic era. I’ve already had more staff report positives for them or their families since January 3rd, than I did all of last semester.

But 2022 is the year where I will hit the number of service years I need to both reset my retirement salary level and my years of service. Which of course means that this year is a year that I can make a major career change until either I hit medicare age or universal health insurance comes to America.

It’s also already been a huge year on a personal front. I met someone nearly twenty years ago who undoubtedly will be the love of my life. That our relationship was incredibly complicated, utterly non-traditional, amazingly intense and undefinable even to us is more than accurate. That we have a connection to each other than neither of us can explain or escape is also more than accurate. But too much time, distance, uncertainty and complications has drove a wedge between us over the last few years. And in 2022 it has all come crashing down and we’ve said goodbye, big year.

But 2022 is also shaping up to be a year of milestones. I’ve quite accidentally bounced into setting an initial pace of bucket list items each month, so what the hell, let’s see if we can’t go 12 for 12 this year. Yesterday I completed my pistol training safety course that both qualified me for my license to purchase in the state of California but also my concealed weapons permit that’s good in 25 states. It was an interesting experience, while I grew up hunting and shooting rifles and shotguns, I’d never fired a pistol before yesterday. Within the training I was able to handle and fire .22, .38, .40 and .45 caliber pistols. Using firearms is always very intense and while we were not shooting over a lot distance, I was happy to see that I had some proficiency including shooting a bullseye on my very first shot with a .45 caliber pistol.

In February, as I’ve mentioned in a recent post, I’ll be heading to Mexico to have an up close grey whale experience in the San Ignacio Lagoon in the Sea of Cortez. So the question becomes, what’s up for March, I’ll have to get back to my bucket list and see what I can check off next. But of course I’m always happy to hear suggestions from you my friends, so feel free to make some recommendations in the comments.

May your 2022 also be big year with lots of happiness for you my friends. ~ Rev Kane