A New Year

Today is the last day of January. Already. We got our Christmas tree taken down a couple of weeks ago and now the Valentines Day decorations have appeared. The new year season is officially over though I still want to take a last few moments to look back.



Several years ago as we headed into the first of what turned out to be 3 waves of downsizing at work I was wondering whether I would still be working there at age 55. This past summer was the 3rd wave and I hope the last for a long while, but I am a year past 55 now and I am grateful not to be on the job market at this time in life and in this economy. While there remains much turmoil in the economy and many questions about where our country and the world are headed, there is also much to be grateful for. The earthquake in Haiti this month reminds me in another way how fortunate I am to still have so much to be thankful for and things to look forward to. Entering the new year is a good time to pause for thanksgiving.



Among those things I look forward to is a visit to Yosemite in a few days. Last summer as I watched the Ken Burns documentary on the national parks I had made it a goal to get to Yosemite some day. As things have turned out, I will be traveling to the west coast this week for business meetings and will be able to take some vacation time afterwards to make a short visit to Yosemite for the first time. What a treat!



I had prayed a year ago that our national leaders would be 'mugged by reality' and some of that appears to be happening. Politics is never a place to put much hope, but a headlong rush in any direction, left or right, is cause for concern. The headlong rush seems, for now at least, to have slowed. I am grateful.



I take a lot for granted, but some of those things force my attention at times. This week the sewer line from our house to the street backed up due to roots growing into the pipe. Fortunately our house had a relief valve out in the yard so it did not show up in the bathtub! Among many things the builder did wrong in our house, they did that one right! Anyway, as the folks in Haiti go without even the most basic sanitation facilities, we still take sewers, water, and electricity for granted until they are missing for a short time. How great to have a working sewer system! How much more I should be thankful for other, more enduring things that I also mostly take for granted: life, family, forgiveness.



So, as January ends and I consider the new year, I have much to be thankful for and much still to look forward to. Happy (late) New Year!