Masked Countdown And Gratitude

Today my wife and I received our second COVID-19 vaccine doses.  We both got the Pfizer version.  Now we wait fourteen days for the full effect to kick and and then we will be able to resume fairly “normal” life.
Saying that, we anticipate wearing masks in public until summer of 2022.  Wearing masks IS NOW the new normal until scientists can advise about the various strains of COVID and the effectiveness of the current vaccines against them.
What’s different then?  We anticipate “some” travel restrictions will be lifted and we’ll be able to visit family in Liverpool and go other places (stores and restaurants) without too much worry.  We also are looking forward to more casual and comfortable visits with family members (summer BBQ’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners).
We have lost friends and loved ones and we are grateful to have gotten through this pandemic by the grace of God, the luck of fate, the hard work of all the scientists and first line care givers and other critical staff who have worked throughout this crisis, and (probably not least importantly) by wearing masks, social distancing and washing our hands.
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On This Day In:
2020	Democratic Aspiration
2019	Soul Before Will
2018	Small Things
2017	Clear And Warm To Me
2016	Ripple
2015	Amazing Or Full Of Wonder?
2014	Are You Confused?
2013	But The Odds Are Against It
2012	Far Better Off With Books
2011	Timid And Fainthearted

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The Best Gifts

The best gifts to give:
To your friend, loyalty;
To your enemy, forgiveness;
To your boss, service;
To a child, a good example;
To your parents, gratitude and devotion;
To your mate, love and faithfulness;
To all men and women, charity.
—  Oren Arnold
[In the original, the quote is a single sentence.  I’ve modified the format to suit my “poetic” taste.  There is a variation on this quote which reads:  ]
“A Christmas gift suggestion:  To your enemy, forgiveness.  To an opponent, tolerance.  To a friend, heart.  To a customer, service.  To all, charity.  To every child, a good example.  To yourself, respect.”  —  Oren Arnold
[I like both versions – even when it’s not Christmas Season.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2018	Sweep!!!
	We Must Be Living In TRULY Historic Times
2017	The Best?
2016	Timely Opinions On “The Donald”
	Even Allowing For Coincidence
2015	First Things First
2014	Without The Other
2013	Earn This
	Seeking A View
2012	Stumblin’ Along My Way
	We’re Proud Of You, Jr!
	Union Card
	Two Philosophies
2011	Simply Unpredictable

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Gratitude And Warmth

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
—  Carl Gustav Jung
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On This Day In:
2017	Never Forget
2016	It’s All Greek To Me (Well, Latin Actually)
2015	Truism
2014	Thank You
2013	Really
2012	Ordinary Five Minutes Longer
2011	The Wealth Of Sons (And Daughters)

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Brown’s Rules

1.  Show up!
2.  Cultivate authenticity
3.  Set boundaries
4.  Actively practice gratitude
5.  Embrace vulnerability
6.  Let go of perfectionism
7.  Explore your emotions
8.  Build shame resilience
9.  Risk failure
10.  Don’t have any regrets
-= BONUS =-
* Let yourself be seen
—  Dr. Brené Brown
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On This Day In:
2017	Still Trying To Make It
2016	One Lucky Man
2015	Food Change ==> Health Change
2014	10 Commandments Of Logical Arguments (Fallacies)
2013	Sociology Of The Future
2012	1010
	There In The Sunshine
2011	Not Enough Time

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Grateful Humility

And yet, it’s a happier fact of human behavior that all tribes are separated less by walls than by membranes, and those membranes can break and the tribes combine as easily as two raindrops running down a windshield that need merely touch to merge.  But something must make the touching happen — and not many things can.
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And if it made us small?  If it made us feel that we are of less consequence, less magnitude, than we usually think we are?  Well, good.  Humility was part of the veil of peace that was drawn over the country on Aug. 21.  So was community.  And so, it would be nice to think, was gratitude.
—   Jeffrey Kluger
From his article: “Mother Nature, the uniter, briefly eclipses the nation’s divisions“
Describing the 21 August 2017, totality eclipse for Time Magazine dtd: 4 September 2017
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On This Day In:
2016	Obstacles
	Election + 2 Weeks
2015	Done What You Could
2014	Impossible To Other Men
2013	Just In Case
2012	Isn’t This Just Pleasant?
2011	No Void In Sight

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Acknowledgement

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others.  The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.
—    Alfred North Whitehead
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On This Day In:
2013	Longevity, Tenacity and Diversity
2012	What Reagan Really Cared About
2011	Seeming Sane (Or Not)

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