How is it that the 2022 year’s 365 days, at 24 hours a day, (the same numbers of days and hours of 2021) seemed to have passed a lot faster as they did in 2021? The days and months seem to move faster and faster each year, and although, at times, we hope time would slow down at our age, we are grateful that we have enough of it to do to make the time pass more quickly.

2022 was one of those years where we had plenty to do and the year seems to have flown by at a record pace. After two years of “Pandemic Life,” we saw doors re-opening, opportunities we enjoyed coming back close to where they were before 2020, and excitement build for us to be able to enjoy our summer schedule in 2022.

For Christmas last year, I received a new Cleveland Baseball piece of luggage from our daughter and son-in-law, as my old one, of about 20 years, literally lost its zip, and sadly had to be put down. I really liked the new one I got, so, I went online and found one exactly like it, and bought it, so Sally and I could each have one for our travels.

The new pieces of luggage, put us into the 21st century, as they had wheels and a pull along handle, something we never experienced before in our travels. It was pretty cool and a lot easier to have these new suitcases, and not have to lug our luggage (I wonder if that’s how luggage got its name) whenever we had to go from here to there in our travels. Anyway, since acquiring these new pieces, they traveled a whole slew of miles in 2022.

I’ve been retired since 2008, but Sally kept on working until June of this year, so our trips were limited to mostly summer and school breaks, but now that she’s retired, we seem to have lived out of our suitcases much more than we ever did before. Looking back, to even November of 2021, we have been to Virginia twice, once to look after our granddaughters for a week while Jon and Erica traveled to Long Island for a wedding. Then in April of this past year, we returned to celebrate the Baptism of our youngest granddaughter, Olivia. Earlier in April, we began our many trips to Cleveland for many baseball weekends, and now in retirement, many during the week game trips, mostly on consecutive days. In July, we attended my 50th Class Reunion, a year late due to COVID-19, which was held at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Celoron. Even though we live about 10 minutes from the hotel, we decided to get a room for the night, so once again we packed our bags for an overnight stay and a great reunion with the Classes of ’71 and ’72.

A few weeks later, after a couple more trips to Cleveland, we headed to Cincinnati for our yearly fix of Jimmy Buffett, so we packed those new suitcases with our Buffett digs, and headed off to Ohio’s Queen City, for our yearly Escape to Margaritaville.

Ten days later, it was back to Progressive Field in “The Land,” this time, not for baseball, but for a stop on Elton John’s Farewell Concert Tour. From my reunion to Elton John, that was just the month of July.

August saw the first weekend back at a weekend of baseball games, and then on August 19, we headed to Hershey, PA to meet up with Jon, Erica, Gianna and Olivia for a weekend which included the Hershey Zoo, and Hershey Amusement Park. September brought us back to baseball in Cleveland on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, and an end of the season half week on the 28th, 29th, 30th, and October 1st, and then there were the playoffs. Whew!!

Proud to say, the luggage held up very well during the many travels, over the many days, hours, and miles of our jaunts. It was a year that couldn’t get here fast enough, especially after the pandemic, but also sped by so fast, we now sit in wonderment of where the time went in 2022.

There are times when it feels like time drags, and things are pretty hum-drum because you don’t feel like you’re doing something. We use phrases like our children did after the first week of summer vacation like, “I’m bored,” or “There’s nothing to do.” It’s during those times when an hour seems to last a day. It certainly wasn’t that way for us this past year.

For us, in 2022, time flew by in the wink of an eye. We’re not sure we want time to fly by as fast in our future, but we will definitely look back on 2022 as certainly a year to remember. One statement we both can utter often about 2022, “And two new little suitcases did lead us.”

However fast, or not-so-fast, 2023 goes for any or all of us, may it be a healthy and exciting one. Happy New Year all!