2021, A New Hope

  So we're finally at the 365th day of 2021 and, like many people, I am ready to turn the calendar over and hope that 2022 brings us fewer of the lows and more of the highs.  On 12/31/2021, I have hopes for 2022.  I am sure there will be trials and tribulations, but let's hope they are outnumbered by the wonderful things in store for us all.  In our family alone, we have two weddings and a graduation to look forward to and who knows what else.  I end my year of hopeful reflections with hopes for us all for 2022.  I especially hope it's not 2020.....II.  Happy New Year all!  See you with a new theme tomorrow!

  So, it was not Chris Carter who informed me that the 364th day of 2021 is BACON DAY , no he is on vacation from Breakfast with the Beatles so I had to go looking online for inspiration for today's hopeful reflection.  But, once I found out on 12/30/2021, it gave me bacon hopes.  Honestly, not hopes for more bacon (not that this would be bad at all), but for the fact that the team on my project is connected by one of our colleague's love of bacon.  AND, even though John Goerke is no longer on the project, through FB, we stay connected with jokes about bacon, posts about bacon (such as this one), and just plain fun banter.  And, as the project is (finally) closer to the finish than it is to the start, I am hoping that this, and other inside jokes, can keep us connected even after the project is over and done with.  Anyone who knows me knows that I do not like saying goodbye.  SO, here's hoping that bacon keeps us connected.

  I laughed when I discovered Day #363 (last palindrome in 2021!) is Still Need to Do Day.  I feel like EVERY day is a Still Need to Do Day for me.  12/29/2021 was no different.  There were things to do for the basketball games I announced today (and the ones I will announce tomorrow).  There are things I need to get done for work (feels like an endless list).  And there are things we have on our list to do tomorrow, and Friday, and into the next week.  Yes, I have To-Do List hopes.  Mainly I hope we can get to all the things on our list and, when we cannot (we will likely not be able to) that we have the wisdom to prioritize what REALLY needs to be done and the grace to forgive ourselves when we have things leftover at the end of our day.....I hope the same for all of you as well.

  On the 362nd day of 2021 I got to do something I really enjoy.  On 12/28/2021, I announced, ran the clock, and operated the scoreboard at a Collingswood High School Girls Basketball Game.  It is something I have been able to do, and have been enjoying, since the 16-17 season.  And a few seasons ago, I added the boys games as well.  I have a lot of announcing hopes.  I hope that I can keep up with the speed of the game (sometimes there is a LOT going on).  I hope that I do not mess up the clock too many times (sometimes I watch the game and forget to click that thumb).  I hope that I pronounce all of the players' names right (their family may be in the audience and they want to hear it spoken correctly).  And, on the day of John Madden's passing, I hope that I can improve with each game as John did.  It is good to have people to model yourself after (I actually pattern myself after John McAdams (rip) and Richard Kahn, the legendary anno...

  I spent a LOT of the 361st day of 2021 cleaning up data.  Yes, I was working on 12/27/2021, this is the first time in my professional career (and the first time since either Penn Catering or 7-11) that I have been scheduled to work in my primary job between Christmas and New Years.  Penn's Special Vacation will have to be observed in the Summer for those of us on the NGSS Project.  But, I don't mind, this is important stuff and I have data cleanup hopes.  I hope I have enough time this week to get to a lot of the data cleanup tickets.  I hope that all of our hard work now, makes for an easier conversion in March.  And I hope that all of my teammates are having a good week, even if we are working when most, at Penn, are not.

  It was fitting that, on day #360 of 2021, we found ourselves sitting in a big family circle.  That is because, on 12/26/2021, we gathered as a Walters Family for a nice Christmas celebration.  The dinner was potlock and we ate a little further from each other than we usually would have, but all of family fun was had.  I have Family Game Night hopes this evening.  We played a lot of games as a family, we had a lot of laughs, and it was good to be back together as a group.  Then we came home and Zoomed to CA where more games were played (and more laughter ensued).  I hope our families never tire of family game night and I hope we have many more of them in our future!

It was Christmas on the 369th day of 2021.  And 12/25/2021 was filled with all of the traditions of our families Christmases.  We started with opening presents around the tree, first the stockings and then the gifts under the tree.  Then it was off to "Jackie's diner" for an amazing Christmas breakfast, New Jersey style.  Christmas movies at home.  Christmas music on the Echo (even the Renaissance Christmas album that brought back the 911 S. 47th St vibes).  A great Christmas dinner cooked by Sarah.  And then Zooming with the West Coast and online game time.  I have Christmas Tradition hopes as I head off to bed with visions of Christmas traditions dancing in my head).  I hope that, even as the kids get older, we can keep holding on to the traditional events that makes Christmas even more special.  I hope that, as the kids get older, they will start traditions of their own (and, hopefully, include us!)  Christmas is an amazing famil...

  As I have said many times, music is one of the most important facets of Church for me.  And, on 12/24/2021, I have Christmas Brass hopes.  Because Christmas Eve is not really Christmas Eve without Christmas Brass.  Thankfully, for as long as I can remember, Sarah and I have assembled an ensemble that has allowed us to play at the start of the Christmas Eve service.  And the 358th day of 2021 was no different.  Thanks to Michael Tibbetts who played trumpet with us tonight (our second trumpet had Covid and could not attend).  But ALSO, thanks (again) to Jacob Reeder, Olive Ruiz, and Brian Greenberg (the video wizard) who, unknown to them, had a repeat performance on our 8PM online Candlelight Service.  The whole day today was fantastic, from the Maggiano's Family Lunch, to the City Light Shows (and Christmas Village) to the 5PM IN PERSON service (with brass prelude) to a very meaningful service this evening.  I will go to bed tonight with sou...

  So the 357th day of 2021 was the last regular business day of 2021 for Penn.  Now, my project has a lot to get done before our March Gp-Live, so we will all be working next week while most of our colleagues are off.  But it makes sense to keep up the momentum!  And it is the next to last day before Christmas so, on 12/23/21, I have penultimate hopes.  Hoping that things go smoothly tomorrow, Christmas Eve, in our travels to the City, Lunch, Light Shows, Brass at 5PM Church, 8PM Church online.... a busy day "off" tomorrow.  But I also have ultimate hopes for Penn, who just announced a remote start to the Spring semester.  I won't be working back on campus until 1/24/22 and I was remote today, so it'll be over a month away from the campus I love.  And also hoping that this delay allows Penn to avoid a huge surge and for the rest of the Spring to play out, on campus, in person.  So as Christmas approaches, there are so many hopes for things to...

  I love the Christmas Season!  I was telling my colleagues today how I have a Christmas Tie for the Friday after Thanksgiving all the way to the 12th day of Christmas (yes, that is a LOT of ties)!  But on the 356th day of 2022 I came home to another WONDERFUL part of the season.  A colleague on my project who remembers how much I enjoyed her cookies (when we were in person, she brought them in for us all), sent me a care package!  I felt the Christmas Spirit on 12/22/21 (ANOTHER wonderful palindrome) and I have cookie hopes for you all.  Not just hopes that you enjoy any Christmas cookies you receive but also I hope that, in receiving and giving, you feel the Christmas Spirit as I felt today.  I felt joy today (and I enjoyed delicious cookies), and I hope you all get the same joyous feelings as well!

  The 355th day of 2021 is the shortest daylight day of the year.  So, on 12/21/21 (yes the Final 21st day of the 21st Year of the 21st Century!), I hope things get brighter.  I KNOW that, starting tomorrow, there will be more sunlight each day, so each day will be brighter, baseline.  So I hope that other things improve that make things brighter in my life and yours and, as the sign says here, I hope that I find my inner optimism and I can pass it on.  Hoping for brighter days ahead, in oh so many ways!

I have to admit, on the 354th day of 2021, I feel the vice grip of another impending shut down tightening upon us.  There was a lot more bad news on 12/20/21, even though I was trying to stay away from media.  Events getting cancelled, education announcing a back to virtual format, it's a combination of deja vue and PTSD, I think.  All I can do is hope this passes quickly.  We know so much more now that we did in March of 2020.  We have vaccines, we have boosters, we have better treatments for those who, unfortunately, get infected.  But we also have a massive number of people who do not care enough about others to do what benefits society.  And I hope that they do not cause more disaster.  I dare not hope that they change their minds, because they've had enough time to do so.  BUT, I DO hope that those who truly cannot get the shots, especially kids under 5, can stay safe in these times.  These times are getting scary again, and I hope ...

  The 353rd day of 2021 is upon us.  And, on 12/19/2021, I should be enjoying the palindromic nature of the day.  I should be awestruck by the fact that the Church deposit on day #353 is $5,335.  But, no, tonight I am tired, frustrated, and worried.  All I am hearing these days is about the Covid re-surge (again??).  Omircon, Delta, more cancellations, possible shut downs.  Education in some places returning to virtual.  And I am nervous and hoping to stay healthy.  I hope that I can avoid catching the virus (at least I am double vaxxed and boostered, but it's still a danger).   I also hope that I can stay calm and not stress too much, this can take more of a toll on my mental health and that mental health of others as well.  I hope that people realize that this is happening because of people's refusal to get vaxxed, refusal to wear masks.  We cannot recover from this situation if we do not care about others and do what is...

Well, on Day #352 of 2021, Anna received another admission to a college.  This time, on 12/18/21, it was to school where Sarah works, Temple University.  This is exciting for Sarah as now there is only one other school from whom she is waiting for decision.  And, she has choices.  So I have choice hopes for her.  I mean hoping that she makes a choice she never regrets.  And the choice hopes are the hopes that are of the highest quality (like choice cuts of meat).  And now Anna has two (maybe three, maybe more if she decides to submit more applications) choice institutions from which to choose.  Exciting!  Congrats, Anna!

  What a strange day the 351st day of 2021 was!  Amidst a national scare of gun violence in schools, Anna's school went into lockdown early on 12/17/2021.  Now it ended up being nothing, but until we knew that for sure it was nerve wracking, and I can only imagine how the students and teachers felt as well.  But then, the day went on, Christmas Pajama Day at CHS AND Instant Decision Day for Rowan University.  So, after a lockdown, in her Christmas PJs, Anna interviewed with Rowan and GOT IN!  She is a long way from making her final decision where she might attend, but we have College Hopes tonight.  For Anna, for sure, as she continues in her decision making process, but also for Alexa, who completed her third semester of Penn Nursing today and now is (HOORAY) home for the next 3.5 weeks.  I hope that both of my children find college a place to learn, grow, and make everlasting memories.

Once again, on the 350th day of 2021, I am Still Hoping to Stay Safe.  Not just for me, but I am really worried about safety on 12/16/2021.  First, there's Covid.  So many people still not vaccinated, refusing to wear masks, and angry that we're moving backwards and restrictions are coming back.  Don't get me wrong, I am tired of all of the restrictions as well, but I hope that people can start to behave responsibly and things can get back under control.  But now I see there is a stupid Tik Tok Challenge that poses threats of gun violence in schools tomorrow.  So, I have additional things to hope (and worry) about related to staying safe.  I hope these videos are all talk and no action.  I hope they find the origins of these videos and prosecute those involved.  I hope everyone stays safe tomorrow, in all facets of life.  Sigh.  Stay Safe, everyone!

  So it was the end of the season banquet for the Collingswood HS Field Hockey Team on 12/15/2021.  Alexa started playing Field Hockey in 5th grade, at Oaklyn, on the last team Oaklyn ever had.  That was the 2013-2014 season.  And we really started watching the Colls FH Team when as Ashley played for them, in HS, starting with her 9th grade year which was 2009-2010.  So it's been 14 seasons of involvement for our family in Colls FH.  Four years watching Ashley, then watching Alexa at OPS, CMS, and CHS and, for the past two years, following the team with Anna as the Manager.  Anna was honored, on the 349th day of 2021, for being a four-year Manager, the last two years solo.  So, I have More Field Hockey Hopes (since I had them on 10/2 when we watched Alexa with the Penn Club Team) and I have reflections too!  14 years of amazing memories, 14 years of sisterhood, 14 years of being impressed with how the FH players always seem to be athletes, bu...

  Instead of burying the lede, I will just come out with today's reflection at the top of the post.  Music brings me hope.  Always has, always will.  And, on the 348th day of 2021, there was a lot of hope to go around as the Collingswood Music Department (Middle School and High School) performed their Winter Choral Concert - "Choir is Back!"  So I sat in the auditorium, on 12/14/21, in complete appreciation of the teachers that pour so much of themselves into our children and are just amazing musicians and better people!  I also sat there with tears (good ones) in my eyes, listening to Anna sing her solo and appreciating both her ability, but also the teachers' trust in her to sing it.  I say this a lot, but I have an overwhelming appreciation for Collingswood and the fact that the School has AAA (Academics, Athletics, and the Arts).  I hope that the teachers there continue to make beautiful music in all its forms (voice, instrumental, theater, et...

  The 347th day at work did not go as I thought I would have.  And the rest of this week will be a little different because of it.  That being said, I got a LOT done on 12/13/21.  So I have a lot of hopes for flexibility.  As the quote alludes to, our project is creating a time of great change and I hope I can continue to be flexible and inspire flexibility of others and, by doing so, maybe I can lead from where I am.

  The 346th day really put me in the holiday mood!  I have to admit, until 12/12/2021, I had not really been feeling the Christmas spirit.  But, after participating in Tuba Christmas and Sarah playing in Trombone Christmas, I am feeling Christmassy!  It was so great to be playing Christmas (and Hanukkah) Carols with 100+ other tuba, euphonium, and baritone players.  I have Christmas Brass hopes.  I hope that I can stay in the Christmas mood.  I hope that my parents enjoyed the Canadian Brass (also pictured here) Christmas concert last night, and I hope you all enjoy the music on the radio these days and find your holiday inspiration of your own!

  As stated earlier today, the 345th day of 2021 is cool numerically (as a note, I just noticed is it Day #345 of '21 - that is cool too!)  12/11/21, palindromic and comprised of two palindromic squares of a palindromic square.  This all fills me with numerical hopes.  I know I spent an entire year reflecting on numbers and I hope I never lose my love of them.  And I hope that the future days keep inspiring me to find more things of numerical interest.  I am pretty sure they will, you could say I can probably count on it.

So here we are, the 344th day of 2021 and I am searching for something upon which I can reflect.  But I am not sure if it's been a long week, or if I am just out of sorts but, on 12/10/2021, I am fresh out of ideas.  So, I am hoping for ideas tonight.  Hoping that all that is going on does not tamp down my creative spirit.  Tonight, I am fresh out of ideas, but I hope more come in later days.

  I admit it, I am on Social Media FAR too much.  And, while I realize how evil Facebook/Meta is as a company, I do have to admit I love how FB keeps me connected, allows me to have this daily discipline of reflections (next year will be my 10th!), and, when it works, can get critical information out to many people.  And, on the 343rd day of 2021, 12/9/21 (double palindrome), I really have made a concerted effort to use social media for good, not evil.  In this, I am hoping to lift others up.  Covid has a lot of people on edge, but we still never know what else is going on in a person's life, so I hope I can be positive, kind, empathetic, respectful and I hope that, by doing so, others might follow or at least modulate towards a little more social media good, rather than the more prevalent evil.

  #HumbleBragWarning: The evening of the 342nd day of 2021 found us where we have not been in a long while.  On 12/8/2021, we and other CHS Parents gathered in the CHS Cafeteria and were in the audience as the last two classes of inductees to the National Honor Society were inducted.  In Anna and her classmates' case, RE-inducted, this time in person.  And I was proud when I was watching it on Zoom last year, but I was, somehow, even prouder in person.  Mr. Genna, the CHS Principal, in his opening remarks, commented that these students have really persevered through the last 20 months and they really have.  And, through it all, they have continued to be active in the School, perform service, show leadership, and keep their scholarship at a high level.  I have Honor Society Hopes tonight.  I hope that these students can all continue to be successful, at CHS and beyond.  And I hope the road they travel continues to get less restrictive and that...

I was excited on the evening of the 341st day of 2021.  Penn Women's Basketball played St. Joe's at the Palestra on 12/7/2021.  And, although Penn had won the last three contests, by 10+ points, tonight was NOT their night and they lost to St. Joe's.  One of the issues was that Penn was outrebounded.  Which makes me have hopes for a rebound.  I hope that Penn can get back on the winning track.  I hope Penn has a better rebounding game the next time out there.  But also, as cases are rising, students are moving back into isolation, and Penn is cancelling social events on campus, I hope for a rebound from this trend of Covid positivity.  I hope things get better, not worse, especially as we enter into Finals and the Holiday season.  Stay safe out there and let's hope that worrying about the record of our basketball team are the biggest worries we have in the coming months.

  On the 340th day of 2021, I am filled with Band Board Hopes.  Because, on 12/6/2021, the Penn Band held elections for the 2022 Student Board.  I have been an Assistant Director for the Penn Band since 1995 and one of the best parts of the job is working with student leaders.  The last two years have not been a lot of fun for our Board members as having to navigate Covid, and the Return to Campus has been a heavy lift (and, at times, a heavy burden) for them.  So my hopes are that the outgoing Board Members have some fond memories of being on the Board (I will surely have fond memories of working with them!) and my hopes are that the incoming Board Members have an excellent experience in the coming year (s - some of them are Class of 2024!) and that we continue to work together to ensure the Band is providing music and mirth to the Penn Campus.

  One of the nice things about having Alexa at college so close to us is the fact that family things can continue to be the four of us.  On the 339th day of 2021, after Alexa and I watched the Penn-Duke Women's Basketball Game with the Penn Band, we rushed back over to NJ for one of those family things.  12/5/2021 was Anna's last Winter Concert with ChildrenSong of NJ.  It was wonderful that Alexa could join Sarah and me and Uncle Chris and Aunt Jackie in the Anna fan section of the concert!  :-)  Then we had a nice family meal together and ANOTHER family thing occurred, the decorating of the Christmas Tree.  It was neat to hear, with each ornament that came out of its box, the story that went along with it.  Which Christmas it was received and by whom and maybe why.  I was filled with ornamental hopes.  I hope that we continue to gather family memories, those that are memorialized by ornaments but those that are not as well.  I hop...

I drove a LOT around Philadelphia on the 338th day of 2021.  On 12/4/2021, I took instruments to Christmas Village for two groups' performances.  One from NJ for ChildrenSong and one from Penn for the Band.  And it was great to see Center City decked out for the holidays from the Comcast Light Show (outdoors this year for Covid precautions, to the return of the Visit Philadelphia Holiday Parade that caused me to take many detours as I looked for a place to wait until the performances were completed so I could go back and pick up.  But these detours took me past a lot of places I remember from my childhood.  Even my old Middle/High School.  And, as I thought about all of the development and changes that have taken place in the last 30-40 years, I am filled with Center City Hopes.  I hope that some of the old historic places are preserved as development continues.  I hope that the vacant places I witnessed are soon inhabited.  And, my hope for ...

On the evening of the 337th day of 2021, Sarah and I were the candy deliverers.  Yesterday the OEF Gertrude Hawk candy order was delivered to OPS and, on 12/3/21 (how cool, 12321), we picked it up and delivered what we could.  The rest will be picked up or we will contact others to get it delivered.  The best part of all of this is that we raised necessary funds for the Oaklyn Education Foundation which supports Oaklyn students and teachers.  Much of his money will be turned into scholarships for graduating HS Seniors so that they can pursue their dreams.  I have Scholarship Hopes tonight.  I hope that the scholarships that OEF provides are meaningful and make a difference.  I hope that OEF and other foundations and philanthropic organizations can meet their fundraising goals and continue to help make possible the pursuit of education.  Education is the equalizer, I believe this to my core and I hope can keep working to make it more accessible and...

  So I got boosted on the 226th day of 2021.  Yes, 12/2/21, in addition to being a palindrome and an ambigram. is the day I got my Covid Booster!  And I have a sore arm, but I could still swim and aqua jog my normal regimen today at the pool.  And, have boosted hopes.  I, of course, hope that this booster continues to protect me from any virus that may be out there.  This along with my mask wearing will hopefully keep me safe.  But, seeing people post about their own boosters, and their kids getting their vaccinations, increases my hopes that we will go into this Holiday and Winter Season with increased protection and, despite all the media fearmongering about the Omicron variant (which, I admit is concerning, but they thrive on panic) hopefully, together, we can contain Covid-19!

  So the evening of the 335th day of 2021 found me back in the Palestra.  But this time, on 12/1/21 (is that an AMAZING date or what?), the place was PACKED.  (if I am being honest, a little too packed for our strange Covid variant times, but my mask was FIRMLY on the whole time!)  It was a Big 5 matchup, Penn vs. Nova and the atmosphere was remnant of the "olden days" when the Big 5 matchups would pack the Palestra to the corners.  There were a few empty corner seats, but not much.  At times, honestly, it felt like a Villanova Home game where the Penn Band was the only one allowed to play.  But all my trepidations aside, it filled me with Big 5 hopes.  I hope that the Big 5 continues to play games in the Palestra (Nova played LaSalle there last weekend so maybe there will be more of these atmospheres in the future).  I hope for success for all of the Big 5 programs, except when they are playing Penn, of course.  And, honestly, I hope to...