It was the first day of 2020, and I was looking for omens. They were everywhere. I weighed myself first thing in the morning as is my daily habit, and things were not looking too good. I had hit an all time high, but that was only the half of it. My two adult children arrived from New York City after Christmas, and so my bride decided to have the big holiday dinner on New Year’s Day. There would be carbs aplenty-mashed potatoes, stuffing, brownies and so on. So far everything pointed to a horrible new year.
As the day wore on, hope waned and waxed. I bet $200 on Alabama to beat Michigan. I am not normally a betting man, but I thought Alabama could win by the spread rather easily, so bet I did. The opening play made me quite confident. Alabama scored with an 85 yard touchdown pass, and in my mind I started to spend the $200.Â
Of course, the first play of a game is not the entire game as I unfortunately found out. Within minutes Michigan fought back and their offense went through Alabama’s defense like a knife through butter. Not a single Crimson Tide player seemed to be motivated by the magnitude of my wager.
The score went back and forth in the first half, and I alternated between thinking 2020 was going to be a stellar year, and then thinking I would be better off if we simply went straight into 2021.
Finally the second half came around and Alabama played like my $200 were at stake. Alabama, or more importantly I, won.
So what does all this portend for my 2020? As best as I can tell, when things start off badly, they ultimately get better, but just when I think things are going my way, I suffer setbacks, only to bounce back. In other words, I should prepare myself for another year of ups and downs like all the other years.