No offense, but, with a few exceptions, 2022 so far has sucked.

Now, I know that’s a surprising thing to hear from the Creative Faerie here, but for all the good will and wishes and well-meaning gestures and intentions and utterances, 2022 is still a handful.

And it’s only March.

I wonder idly if the planets are in retrograde or if one of Saturn’s 82 moons is a little out of sync. Maybe its the Butterfly Effect — you know — the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in South America could affect the weather in Texas (meaning that the tiniest influence on one part of a system can have a huge effect on another part). Maybe its just invisible planetwide ice coating that everyone keeps slipping on.

Whatever it is, I wish it would take a break.

Not only did I have the heartbreak of the century when I lost my son; I have a friend battling cancer, a friend with rheumatoid arthritis, friends with heart problems and others with Crohn’s Disease and friends who can’t find a job and other friends who are going through their own deep grief. The list, the line, goes on and on.

And that’s just on a personal level. Don’t get me started about the horrors in the world.

I’m sure your life is no different.

It just seems like $hit keeps hitting the fan (pardon my French) and getting spit back at me. I/we keep coping and adjusting and accepting and fixing and understanding and it all still sucks.

Now if all the 2022 misfortune so far is because of Mars in retrograde or someone across the street broke a mirror, I can handle that. It’s cosmic rules.  Stuff happens that we can’t do anything about.

But what if it’s as simple as bad luck? If it’s as simple as the tornado hitting one house, skipping the one next to it, and destroying the next?

The funny thing is that this Creative Faerie has no answers.

Life is life. Plain and simple. We deal with the hand we are dealt. Sometimes we’re given four Kings and an Ace; other times we have one of each number and suit. You can hope the others at the table are bluffing when placing their bets — after all, you’re bluffing too.

These are the days that you treasure the blessings you DO have. Your grandkids. Your health. Your weekly paycheck. Going to your parents house for dinner on Sunday. Having your parents in your life. Starting and keeping a garden. A journal. A cooking class. Painting a picture or swinging on a swing or playing dolls with your niece.

The answer is as simple as love. Love love love. Feel it, pass it along, share it, cherish it.

Stuff is going to happen. You can’t stop it. No more than you can replace one of Saturn’s moons or travel back in time.

It’s what you do with the cards you’re dealt that make all the difference in the world. To your heart, to your soul, to your friends and family.

Don’t give up.

We still have nine more months to go in 2022!