From Mona’s desk Santa, I want good memories & a Husker win!

Christmas is drawing near and 2020 is drawing to a close. Many of us will have different Christmas celebrations this year. The gatherings may be smaller and quieter for some, something I adjusted to long before COVID.

For years, holidays meant me and my five siblings - and eventually their spouses and then eventually their children - gathered at my folks’ place. It meant crowded rooms, lots of children underfoot, a high level of noise and scouting out places for everyone to sleep. I often ended up on the living room sofa because I happened to remain single for more years. If you brought a husband or wife with you, you usually got a bed!

With the passing of the folks and each sibling’s family growing larger and families moving further away, our crowded, noisy gatherings have become mostly a thing of the past. Now for holidays, it’s just me and my husband. But the memories of Christmases past linger.

The memories of Christmas this year will linger, too. “Remember 2020, when we had to celebrate smaller?” we’ll be saying sometimes in the future. With luck, we’ll also recall the quieter times paved the way for the calmness we seek this time of year. With the noise level down, maybe we can actually hear and heed the Christmas message of peace and goodwill towards men.

2020 is winding to a close. Vaccines are on their way. The electoral college has voted. As of next Monday, the winter soltice, daylight hours will begin, ever so slowly, to get longer. This bad year is ending. Some of us might say it’s ending well...finally and good riddance.

Maybe 2021 will bring better things for Husker football. Last week, the 24-17 loss to Minnesota was not pretty. Alex, Christi and I all picked Big Red and all of us were dissappointed. Nebraska is supposed to be a 6 point favorite this week against Rutgers. Then again, nothing has been normal about 2020 or Husker football so why go with the normal line?

Alex says Nebraska 31, Rutgers 28. Christi says it will be a lower scoring affair at 21-10, Huskers. I’m going with Nebraska 28, Rutgers 18. Let’s hope Big Red can end the season on a win. That will be a good memory, to look back and say, “Remember the Huskers in 2020? It wasn’t pretty, but it ended well.”