So, here they are:
January... Mark and I went on a lovely cruise to the eastern Caribbean-- on one of the Carnival ships that DIDN'T get stranded.
May... We welcomed a new grandchild into our family-- a beautiful healthy little girl named Alana Lee Finnesgard.
November... Mark was offered a full-time position with benefits (after working short-term contracts for five years.)
December... I was able to fly to California to visit my children and grandchildren for five warm, sunny days.
In General... Mark and I have been blessed with good health. I am employed-- in an economy where roughly twenty percent of the workforce is unemployed or underemployed. We still live in a country where we can go to church, share our faith, and worship God unmolested (for the most part). And we are blessed with the comforts of life-- plenty to eat, hot running water (for which I regularly thank God), a comfortable home... and internet.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!
As for 2014? I've made one New Year's resolution (down from the usual three): Keep in touch with my family. I finally realized this year why that's always been so hard for me. I am an introvert, born into a family of introverts. (It took me sixty years to figure that one out.) When you live close by your family, it's not usually a problem to keep in touch, even for an introvert. But when the family is spread across the entire country and the only way to connect is by phone, it suddenly becomes a near impossibility to keep in touch. They may as well live on the moon. But, I have resolved to try.
What about you? Are you the resolution-making type?
Now that the ominous veil of the thirteenth year has lifted, I'm looking forward with great hope to a year that is better than the last. Perhaps the mid-term elections will give us some Congressmen who value the Constitution. That could happen. Right? Maybe food manufacturers will come to their senses and stop using GMO ingredients-- or at least have the courage to label their products without having to be coerced by government regulations. Maybe Americans will finally discover that giving the government charge over our health care isn't such a good idea after all, and demand that Congress repeal the unconstitutional and unaffordable health care bill...that had to be passed before we could see what was in it. Maybe some enterprising chef will open an organic restaurant in my neighborhood! That would be cool.
It's January, and the future stands before us, ready to be revealed one day at a time. Now there's an exciting adventure! Buckle your seat belts and make sure your tray tables are in their upright and locked positions.
May God bless you with a happy, healthy, and positively interesting new year.
