Looking back and forward

To say that 2009 was a tumultuous, momentous year for all of us is somehow not enough to describe how we are as we enter the second decade of the 21st century. Some good things happened in 2009, on a personal and family level and on a collective level with our fellow residents on this planet. Our family was accident free throughout the year, albeit we had our share of visits to doctors and hospitals. We are healthy and alive going into 2010, although the Matriarch resides in Skilled Nursing. We had some unemployment but this has been corrected as the year comes to an end. We had a small amount of success with investments, managing our money and meeting high costs in a tough economic year. The young people have done well in school and are growing in wonderful ways. We intensified friendships and fought off loneliness and discouragement; we have bright hopes for the future. Our search for pleasure and entertainment was satiated through good movies, TV and books, as well as associations with friends in group meetings, social settings and visits to local sites. We had some wins and losses in sports but we convince (or delude) ourselves 2010 will somehow be better. It is called living the dream. After all it took 85 years to win another World Series in Boston!
For our country, we inaugurated a new President and handed him a plate full of problems and opportunities. All things considered he has done well and his team steered the country through rough financial waters; the economy is picking up. The good people in the land have risen to the occasion and the naysayers have not carried the day. The nation remains at war in lands far away from our shores and thousands of brave men and women are out there defending us here at home. If there is a discordant note it is that these men and women are bearing the sacrifice, while at home we refuse to impose a war tax which would share the burden and reduce the debt. The New Year will see improvements in health care for most Americans; we cannot predict the final costs in terms of dollars but somehow Americans will muddle through. For more than two centuries “ican” has been a part of Americans.
In our state and local communities we face tough times and tough choices. Again, the resilience of our people will stand us in good stead. Major breakthroughs in job creation are already announced and spirits are on the rise. Practically everywhere men, women and children, are optimistic and looking forward to personal and collective opportunities and growth.
It is a good time to be alive in our family, in our country and in South Carolina.