Traditionally we start the New Year with resolutions. While as many as 45 percent of Americans say they usually do this, only eight percent are successful in achieving their goals. This year my resolution is to feel and express gratitude more. To me, “thank you” conveys an acceptance and even joy about the past, which adds hope to the present and the future.
So here goes my short list of thanks. 1) We have a new granddaughter, born in September, a healthy little girl that gives us joy along with her very busy 3-year-old sister. 2) While still working, we’ve been able to travel like retirees. 3) Roger is working on interesting international projects at work that have taken him to China, Vienna and Armenia.
My greatest thanks are for my younger daughter. Caryn started a new job at ELCA (Lutheran) national headquarters, as Coordinator of Global Mission Events. The job fits her interests both in nonprofits and event planning. Like many millennials, she was underpaid or underemployed for several years after graduating from college.
The biggest thanks, however, was that she was unhurt after being robbed at gunpoint in daylight in her own garage (in another suburb). One of the perps is in jail. These guys were not very clever. They left fingerprints all over everything and took her iPhone with them so their stolen car was immediately located by the police when they logged into her Apple account. She has worked her way along the post-traumatic emotional path to normalcy with no serious issues. She moved, but within the same city.
So, I start my year with multiple thanks. And may you, too, find fulfillment and joy — all year long!
