The end of 2021 and 2022 have been challenging for me, and I am guessing it may have been for you as well.
I’ve lost quite a few friends and family this past year and I know some of you have. Loss is not an easy thing to talk about or put into words. My mom’s phone number is still in my favorites and emergency contacts. I guess I want to be able to call her and hear her outgoing message which says, “You’ve reached the voice mail of Bonnie Storm. You know what to do!” You’d have to know my mom to see this as funny. The one that preceded said something like “This is Bonnie Storm…you’ve gotten into my voice mail …. leave a message” which we teased her about relentlessly until she finally changed it. I miss her every day and think about her sense of humor and how she was funny even when she didn’t intend to be. For her, COVID meant isolation and loneliness. And I don’t mean make you sad, but I am afraid it meant loneliness for many of us. I hope as we begin to go back to bridge games, concerts and other social gatherings, things get back to whatever normal is now.
If you have struggled with your health or with the loss of loved ones, I am hoping you have the support you need. If you have the capacity, look in on or call someone who may be struggling. Why do I bring this up now? It’s just what is there for me. Talking about the markets and the economy seems pointless and small. I am sure you get plenty of that elsewhere. And so much of the news now, even the economic news, seems to be driven by agendas or something to sell. I don’t mean to imply that we should be uninformed or uninterested in what is going on in the world. I read a ton of financial news and I am careful to balance it with perspective from those who have seen a lot of market ups and downs and lived to talk about it. I won’t bore you with my reading list here, but if you are interested, let me know, and I will make some suggestions.
I am going to make this month’s newsletter short. But know that I am thinking about you, and I hope I provided a little support and encouragement when you needed it. I have learned, and often have to remind myself, that one of the best cures for me when I feel a bit sorry for myself or challenged in some way, is to reach out to someone else. Focusing my attention on someone else seems to bring perspective and helps me refocus on what’s important. The other thing that helps is to think about those things for which I am grateful. I used to think it was trivial to be grateful for a roof over my head and running water. Everyone has running water, right? Well maybe not so much, thinking of you folks in Jackson, MI.
I am grateful for you and who you are in the world. If there is anything I can do to help please reach out! I hope if you have a little capacity, you will reach out to someone in your life just to check in and let them know you are thinking about them.
Have a great month. 🏳🌈
David
