The country world is a mess; governments are failing in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, Syria, United States; there are wars and rumors of wars everywhere; Australia is burning; there are diseases and rumors of diseases everywhere; and the potus has not yet been banned from Twitter. Sometimes it seems like a world gone mad, and it can get a person down in the gray winter dumps…

Here are some things to be grateful for…

1. If you are reading this, you have survived the grayest winter ever — 0 sunny days in January; 3.5 sunny days so far in February… (statistics are from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
2. Though there wasn’t much sun, neither did you have to touch your snow blower or snow shovel (This is specific to Southwest PA…);
3. You probably have not contracted the Corona Virus;
4. There are 28 days left until spring — (Dandelions are sprouting in my yard. In February! And the daffodil buds are fat.)
5. We have spring gardening, summer vacations, and fall harvests to look forward to in 2020;
6. Writing the date 02/20/2020 is very symmetrical and pleasurable;
7. According to Ballotpedia there are 1,047 candidates who have filed to run for president in 2020, including:
   • 309 Democratic candidates
   • 156 Republican candidates
   • 64 Libertarian candidates
   • 22 Green candidates
   • 1,045 of them are probably better than Donny Johnny Rump or Grumpy Grampy Bernie;
8. You have 256 days left to decide — Nov. 3, 2020…
9. the courage of Col. Alexander Vindman, Ambassador Bill Taylor, Dr. Fiona Hill,  Marie Yovanovitch, and Mitt Romney;
10. This is a Leap Year and you have a free day on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. Celebrate it.
11. the joy of getting a new book and having time to read it. (Currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke; just finished Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.)
12. You are still here, most likely sitting in a warm place on this beautiful blue planet, in this candy bar galaxy, in the Lord’s world. We are here for a purpose. What will you do about it?