I was in college when I went out for a congratulations lunch for a friend of mine who was graduating. One of my professors, a Pre-Columbianist, gave the toast–“salud, amor, y pesetas, y tiempo para disfrutarlo,” which translates to “health, love, and wealth, and time enough to enjoy them.”

I’ve been lucky in my life. Even right ouf ot college, when I was working several part-time jobs and babysitting on top of that to pay the rent, I was safe, had a place to live, food to eat, and many backups–my aunt, my parents. And now, during this pandemic, we have been able to work from home and not had to leave our house, where we have enough indoor and outdoor space, unless we need to. We’ve been lucky. So many people aren’t.

I feel bad complaining about how “tough” these years have been, because in truth, they haven’t been as difficult for me as they have for many others. We interviewed many people for a new position at work recently. So many of the people I interviewed were women who had to quit their jobs to be the caregivers for their children. I wasn’t put in that position.

It’s hard when you’re comparing a day-to-day existence with someone’s Instagram account, or blog. I feel as though everything made available for public consumption is put through a filter. It’s tough to remember that, sometimes.

In the end, though, I think that toast is the most anyone can wish for, especially now–health, love, and wealth, and time enough to enjoy it. Happy New Year, and here’s hoping that 2022 is much better than the last two!