Have you all seen the daffodils? They are blooming everywhere we look. Beautiful little yellow heads with the bright orange eye. One day it was dismal dead grass and mud, and the very next, the spunky little yellow flowers. Amazing!We have hidden ourselves, not below a frozen ground but cloistered inside our homes, barely peeping out the door for so long. And now we all seem to be, like the daffodil, coming out and showing up at places we have not been in a very long time. Oh yes, COVID is still rearing its ugly head in places, and we still have to shield and fortify ourselves from the attack and assault of this deadly beast of a disease, but I see so many people I have not seen in a year in the grocery store, and in other businesses in town. They seem more at ease than I have seen people in a long time. My people are planning spring and summer vacations again, small family gatherings for Easter, and everybody’s attitude has returned to its familiar disposition. I can sit down with all my children once again.I have told my friends and family it has seemed to me — as I am sure the people of World War II felt when they were emancipated— that we can once again walk the streets without fear of being endangered in the way we had been for so long. We are still in a holding period somewhat as the virus has not been completely annihilated, but we now have a weapon to use against this perpetrator. My husband and I have both had COVID and we have had our two shots. One set of our children have been vaccinated, too, so we feel somewhat freed from the paralyzing fear that once held us so tight.Last year at this time, we were on the Mississippi Gulf Coast when the very first case of COVID was revealed in Mississippi, in Hattiesburg. We had to go through there to come home and I remember one of my grandsons saying, “I’m going to hold my breath as we go through here.”Little did we know then that we would all be holding our breaths for over a year, with a little more breath-holding to come.Yes, we are going on spring break back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast this year. Yes, we will probably go to a restaurant. But I assure you we will not be as carefree as we were this time last year. Still, we will be enjoying our lives again without the horrific fear of the past year.My husband is a “meat and potatoes man,” and it seems I never plan a meal without some potato dish. I think this came from his days in the army when he ate these items nearly every meal — and he peeled most of the potatoes. This is a good side dish.Tater Tot Casserole1 pound of ground beef, or ground chuck, completely cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in one can of condensed cream of mushroom soup and pour into a 9” x 13” pan. Top it with a bag of frozen tater tots and sprinkle 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.
