Goodbye to 2021, hello to a New Year
Saying goodbye to one year and hello to another can be bittersweet. Every year is filled with ups and downs. 2021 has been no exception. The celebrities lost in 2021 can be found on the internet. I imagine their families hurt as bad as ours when losing someone. Their grief also cannot be any worse than ours. Our community has lost many folks in the last 12-months. We can not look back or forward without pausing to remember each of them.
My journey in the past year is no more important than anyone’s. It is the one I will share because it is the only one, I truly know. I have spent 2021 trying to focus on my physical, mental, and spiritual health. None of these areas have been mastered. But I like to think they are all in a state of improvement. My life is a continual work in progress. When we get too old to learn, our lives are essentially over.
At the beginning of the year, I weighed 225 pounds. My co-worker, Todd Sanders began a diet. After meeting with my cardiologist, he basically told me, “You are fat. Lose weight or die.” Dying was not exactly on my immediate to do list. So, I asked Todd for help. Since Todd has no filter when it comes to his friends, his guidance was tough. For the first month, Todd was my least favorite person on the planet. Since the plan was working so well for him, I decided I would continue to follow his leadership no matter how much I wanted to turn a deaf ear. It is paying off. Today, I weighed in at 185 pounds. Forty pounds gone. I could not and would not have done it without his example and plain talk. Therefore, I shared it in a column.
The year was probably the most I have ever spent alone. Being alone does not always equate to being lonely. It was an opportunity to reflect on friendships, past and present. It does a heart good to do a little soulsearching. After a personal conversation with Billy Cleghorn, which I wrote about, forgiveness and grace were at the front of my mind and heart. For most people, forgiving others can be relatively easy. Forgiving ourselves is not so easy. My conversation with Billy was instrumental in learning to forgive myself. God forgives us. We should do the same. I hope Billy got as much out of our talk as I did.
The most difficult column for me to write this past year was about the conversation I had with Jeff Blumer shortly before he passed away. It had been a long time since I cried that hard.
His passing gave me an insight into the life and love he and his wife Jeanine shared. It gave me a close view of the faith they shared in God. Even in that difficult time. They had a partnership in every sense of the word. It was a reminder of the importance of having a Christ-centered home.
Did they have a perfect marriage? Of course not. No couple does. Nevertheless, I am not sure if I have ever met a couple who loved each other more. I did not enjoy writing that column about our conversation. I had to write it. It hurt.
Another column was about one of the greatest days of my life. It was the day Lindsey and Steve brought my grandson Beau into this world. It was a new kind of love I knew nothing about. I loved that boy from the first minute I saw him. As much as I love him, it was equally joyful watching Lindsey and Steve become parents. They seem to be doing it right. Both have made me proud of them personally and professionally. If Beau grows up to be like his Mama and Daddy, he will do well.
Covid has changed the game for all of us to some degree. It has made enemies out of friends. Some people believe the wearing of a mask or not wearing a mask is reason to argue and fight. Whether or not to get vaccinated seems to get the same argumentative results. Since I am not a doctor or scientist, I have no knowledge to advise anyone. To me the issue is simple. Make up your own mind and respectfully let others do the same. To do so is the very definition of freedom. The Bible says if we say we love God and hate our brother, we are liars. Letting go of anger and hate is one of the most freeing feelings in the world.
2022 will have ups and downs. Some I will write about. Some I will not. A few will make me smile. Others will make me cry. Laugh or cry, they will continue to be about the wonderful people in our community. Happy New Year to you all.