DEAR ANNIE

DEAR ANNIE: Well, here we are. It is that special time of year: The holiday season is nearly through and New Year’s is once again upon us. I got to thinking about how much I am thankful for. Hopefully, you will allow me to share a special message with your readers.

First, I thank the Creator for allowing me to be here for 82 years and counting, and I thank God for giving my wife the strength to tolerate me for over 51 years (and counting). I give thanks for my two sons, for they have grown into fine young men. One son served for 10 years in the Navy, and he is presently working as a computer analyst and program supervisor. Our other son is working as a computer engineering specialist and program manager. As a proud father, if I do say so myself, it’s been so far so good for both of them, and for that, I give thanks.

On a more personal note, my wife and I suffer from a host of diseases and diagnoses. We take a litany of medications and prescriptions. I give thanks that I have health coverage and live in a country where you and I can receive adequate care and competent treatment. When it comes to my and my family’s health, I give extra thanks for our wellbeing. I take nothing for granted anymore.

With some reservations and imperfections, I give thanks for being a citizen of the United States. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1958 to 1988, achieving the rank of sergeant major. I got to see and experience a lot of the world, its people and cultures. And, believe me, I give thanks for growing up in America. While America is not without her bruises and blemishes, she is still, by far, the best when it comes to freedom, opportunity and progress. In short, America is not perfect, but she is far better than her contemporaries are. And I give thanks for all that.

Further, I give thanks for being able to contribute to the welfare and advancement of others, especially those children and families that are at risk and disadvantaged socially, politically and economically. I thank the Creator that He has enlightened and enabled me to do the best that I can with what I have.

Moreover, I give thanks for all the times, places and people that I forgot to give proper thanks for. I figure it’s time that I reflect upon, remember and treasure all the good times, places and people that I have come across in my life and that have allowed me to continue on the remainder of my journey. I give thanks to all those who helped and empowered me over the years, decades and half-century-plus. I give thanks to all those whose backs and shoulders I have stood and built upon all this time. I give heartfelt thanks for realizing that I have not been alone, nor have I done it all by myself.

Lastly, for all these reasons and so many more, I am truly thankful. I thank the Creator and life for being so good to me and mine. I give thanks for being allowed to share my blessings with others. For everything I want to be, for everything I hope to be, and for everything that I am, I give thanks and thanks and more thanks.

— Immersed in Gratitude DEAR GRATITUDE: A special message you have, indeed! Thank you for sharing all the blessings in your life, of which there are so many. As we prepare to welcome the start of another year, I encourage all of our readers to reflect on what the last 365 days, in particular, have brought them. From new jobs to new family members, good health to good food, exciting travels to exciting experiences, I hope your days

have been filled with love, laughter and goodness. And in the new year, may we all resolve to slow down a little and truly appreciate all the joys we have to be grateful for.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy 2023!

DEAR READERS: Wishing you all a very happy new year. I hope it is filled with lots of joy and love. Below are some quotes that I put together in hopes that they inspire you to live your best life. With an open mind, an open heart and a sense of wonder, each year is a new beginning to start fresh. Remind yourself that the best is yet to come.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

— CS Lewis

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

— CS Lewis

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

— Edith Lovejoy Pierce

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

— George Eliot

“Ring out the old, ring in the new, / Ring, happy bells, across the snow: / The year is going, let him go; / Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

— Alfred Lord Tennyson

“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” — TS Eliot “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

— Thomas Jefferson

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

— EE Cummings

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.”

— JP Morgan

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

— Socrates

“Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

— Helen Keller

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

“Last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.”

— TS Elliot, “Little Gidding”

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘it will be happier.’”

— Alfred Lord Tennyson

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each year find you a better man.”

— Benjamin Franklin

“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.”

— Anne Frank

“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”

— John D. Rockefeller

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

— William E. Vaughan

“Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but the ability to start over.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.”

— Henry David Thoreau

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

— Nelson Mandela