Someone asked me the question, “What are straight-up facts that people won’t accept?”

I looked back at my own life, pondered it and came up with the following answers. They seem like a some good things to remember in the new year.

We all die. Yes, even you.

Life is short. You may not believe it now, but you will.

There are some things that are not fixable.

The person you want to spend your life with at 21, may not be your choice when you’re 45.

If you live to be 90 and are sitting in a wheelchair, reminiscing about your life, all the fancy vacations, the fancy cars, restaurants and parties you attended won’t mean a thing. Your memories will include holding your children; saying their prayers at night; the dance recitals when they forgot the steps; the spelling bees they lost; the little league game when your son was pitching and his team was losing by double digits but he never gave up, methodically pitching the ball with the same determination he threw the first one; the homemade Christmas and birthday gifts they made for you in elementary school; sitting in front of the fire with your husband and a glass of wine and talking; and the last time you saw your mother or hugged your dad.

All the mundane, simple things in life that seemed unimportant at the time are the things that will pull at your heart strings when they no longer “are.”

Donald Trump is no worse than many and far better than most.

Kathryn Dews

Salisbury