What have you learned?

The Pity Bus has just crossed the intersection of “I’ve Had Enough Avenue” and “Why Me Street,” and is finally pulling into the village of “Put This Behind Us.” But why is the crowd at the station asking what we’ve learned? That’s all I’ve heard lately, “what have you learned?” I didn’t know there’d be a test, or I would have only audited the year for no grade. I guess if I must identify lessons learned during this past year, I would remember these things.

Macaroni and cheese soaks up sadness.
Zoom meetings were only exciting for about two months.
Wearing a mask makes me cough.
People scatter like kicked ants when you have a little cough.
A pandemic can’t stop young people from falling in love — or old people, for that matter.
Even if you feel everything has been taken away from you, it’s still important to give.
When your dog dies in the middle of a pandemic, it’s twice as sad.
My heart is happy when I see little girls with big hair bows.
I’m glad I don’t live in a place where school was cancelled.
Less can be more, and even plenty.
If there was such a thing as a hope casserole, people would eat so much they’d get sick.
In the midst of chaos and stress, faith can be a steady rock.
It was easier to tolerate certain people when sporting events were cancelled.
Getting a little shiver of excitement from answered prayers never gets old.
Someone calling just to say hello makes you smile as you fall asleep later that night.
I miss the COSTCO samples more than I thought.
Receiving a handwritten note in the mail makes the whole day better.
I get excited when I meet someone with common sense.
No one in the government has common sense. If you think they do, give it time.
Good dogs bring calmness and joy.
Cats remain optional.
Forget the toilet paper and hand sanitizer, stockpile Wickles Pickles.
I’m still crazy in love with my husband. (He said I could stop after the first three words).
If you survive COVID, you feel like a superhero.
It’s easy to delete cantankerous people from social media — “click” that’s all it takes.
The PBS app is one of the best purchases I ever made.
Wearing pearls spiffies up the slouchiest of days. (but we already knew that, right?)
All children need their parent’s reassurance that everything will be okay. Even if the child is over 50.
Organizing my pantry makes me feel like Frank Lloyd Wright.
Friends who took up baking as a hobby are dangerous.
For every one episode of Star Trek I watch, he’ll watch two shows with British accents.
A new lipstick shade can be as exciting as a vacation. Not really, but it’s good distraction.
Gardening is soothing but I shouldn’t sling 40 lb bags of Black Kow around.
It takes approximately 15 days for a pulled back muscle to heal.
Gardening isn’t for sissies.
I can’t stop thinking about macaroni and cheese.