Even though it was a bitterly cold day it was so great to see all the young students (our future) mostly all bundled up and happily trooping back to school last week after their Christmas holiday break.
Hopefully they are really looking forward to another busy 114 days of classes, study, sports, good buddies, neat social events but not too much homework or tough tests? As far as the rest of us we likely did a lot of shoveling and shivering, and if we haven’t planned a ‘sneak away to the sun’ getaway we will be really hoping that on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, the sleepy old critter will not see his shadow and spring may be just around the corner?
After hopefully making it safely through another Friday the 13th, we will likely soon be getting our 2016 income tax form on-line, with hopes that we may get a few dollars back for a rainy day. If we want 2017 to be our year, we should not just sit on the couch and wait for it, because then we will watch the soaps and the world news too much and that can really be depressing. Let’s all be brave and try to get out and take on some new things that challenge us to get excited and fierce about having some fun, don’t be afraid to make a few changes, and always try to toss in lots of smiles and laughs to relieve the usual stresses and strains. My wife tells me that I should be throwing out some of the things that I have been cluttering far too long and that we should have a nap or go to bed early if we are tired, then wake up invigorated and ready to take on each day as it comes. It never hurts to turn over a new leaf or two, and this year it might also be wise to stay away from negative people on social media, as well as those who can only achieve power and success by using and hurting others. It will always be much more of a joy and long term benefits for us to help make our community a better place to live and to vow to utter much more gratitude than gossip.
How to tell that we have entered into a new modern year
• We accidentally entered our fancy new password into the microwave.
• We haven’t played solitaire or all those other age-old games with a real deck of cards for a long time.
• We have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach our family of four.
• We now automatically check the ingredients of a can of chicken noodle soup to see how many calories or if it contains echinacea.
• Your grandmother clogs up your email inbox asking you to send her a JPEG of your new-born so that she can create a screen saver.
• We pull into our own driveway and use our cell phone to see if anyone is home because we forgot the door code.
• The concept of using real money instead of a debit or credit card to purchase most things is now rare to us, but we will always need some change to put in those old fashioned parking meters or to buy a candy bar or a cup of coffee.
Our wish for all of you in 2017
• May peace break into your home and may angels come to steal all your debts.
• May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for dollar bills and enough change.
• May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips.
• May happiness slap you across the face and may all your tears be those of joy.
• May the problems you had forget your home and work address, and in the most simplest of words…May 2017 be the best year of your life, and where we can all so proudly share with friends and family that ‘we did it our way.’
Get out in the slush and enjoy the January Chinook for as long as it lasts and then have a great week, all of you.