LITTLE ROCK — Well, how was Christmas? Planning a big New Year’s Eve, or have you had all the celebrating a body can stand?
Barreling out of the old and into the new can be quite tiring, so once again I’m planning on keeping the last resolution of the old year by watching the ball drop on the new one from the safety of my easy chair. And counting my blessings, of course. A dear woman who probably never had half as many blessings as she deserved used to say that. I keep trying, but there have been so many over the years that I’m sure an awful lot has been left out.
It’s been a hectic fortnight, what with the shorter work weeks due to back-to-back Thursday holidays; hence, this string of revamped columns to which regulars have been subjected. Thanks for hanging in there. A whole new year looms, time enough for commentary on heavier things such as murder and mayhem and mangled care (i.e., mandated health insurance). And that’s just January. February will see the Arkansas Legislature convened for its first biennial budget session. After that,we kick off the 2010 campaign season, which looks to be a long one.
It should go without saying that I’m grateful for the letters you’ve written this year, not just for publication but to compliment or criticize the work done here. Some personal notes may have gone unanswered-it can take as much as an hour to work my way through all the e-mail that accumulates between Friday evening and Monday morning, and after that there’s the snail mail to attend to-but very few went unread. I’ll try to do better next year, which is about as good as resolutions get. (Not to mention that it’s one of the few that can be broken and taken up again without too much ground having been lost. If we all just resolved to try to do better,there’s be darned fewer resolutions to break, don’t you think?)
Despite all the animosity, suspicion and outright hatred in the world, peace on Earth and goodwill toward men didn’t entirely elude us in 2009, so that’s something to be thankful for. Goodness may not live in every heart-probably doesn’t, judging by all the violence at home and abroad-but there’s enough kindness and generosity in enough people to keep hope alive.
Despite the economic upheaval of the past year(s), people are still opening their pocketbooks and their hearts to those less fortunate, which says a lot about this wonderful country. Maybe we can’t heal every hurt or fill every need, but at least we keep trying. We can’t all don uniforms and take up arms (or fire hoses or medical bags, come to that) in service to our fellow man, but I appreciate those who do and sleep better at night knowing they’re on the job.
Freedom, food, clothing, good health, good music, good books, warmth in winter and air-conditioning in summer are always high on my list, but life would be dismal, indeed, without friendly faces, particularly those that have aged right along with mine. Everyone should be so lucky when it comes to friendships of long standing. Fortunately, not one of them would take offense if I were to include my canine companion among their number, which I secretly do.
Family has been a joy and a comfort all year long, even though we don’t get together nearly enough to suit me. New Year’s resolution: Change that. Schedule more of those Saturday brunches with the “girl” cousins, the ones that never seem to break up until suppertime. Good times, good people, some of whom I grew up with but never really got to know until now.
Speaking of cousins, I picked up a couple of new ones this year from genealogical circles-on my mother’s side for a change, which is what I call real progress-and they have enriched my life as well as my knowledge. They’ve given generously of their information about our common ancestors, helping me put a few more pieces of the family puzzle into place.
It occurred to me to do a proper year-in-review column, but others do that sort of thing so much better. Every year around this time, I toy with the notion of becoming more organized and keeping track of the highs and lows in the year to come so that a proper year-in-review column can be produced next time, but then it occurs to me that this is one of the easier resolutions to break, so why bother making it? Besides, one never knows what a new year will bring. A wise man once observed that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Maybe it’s better just to take it as it comes.
Associate Editor Meredith Oakley is editor of the Voices page.
Editorial, Pages 21 on 12/30/2009