Sorry for the late reply, we've been on the road for the past several days.
The one thing about gardening is that there's always next year.
Gardening is funny like that, every year some veggies do great while others don't.
This year we had very little luck with the potatoes, and I have no idea why.
Oh no, not the potatoes! Grrr. Yes, I agree on your observation. I think that's how the universe ensures we keep gardening--enough success to keep trying, but not so much to get cocky, haha!