Christmas Time Is Here

I "grew up" watching the Charlie Brown specials and others on TV around the holidays. As the season reaches its climax, I was recently given pause to consider some deeper thoughts.

My Dad died December 9th of 1993, just four weeks after his 79th birthday. That was an especially dificult time for me. Reconciling myself to the loss of my father was a wrenching experience, to say the least. Of course, my feelings do not match my Mom's. She lost her life partner, whom she had known since his boyhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. They'd have been married 74 years this past September.

Christmas as well as Autumn 2006 brought some personal challenges and, while that did put a bit of a damper on the holiday, life improved rather a good bit as a result.

Christmas 2007, however, brought a new challenge: my brother had open-heart surgery to put in four bypasses. He had not experienced any heart muscle damage as yet; so, his prognosis is very good. He was home already, six days after surgery - a bit surprising, but that's how they do it these days: get you back on your feet rather than let you grow idle and weak. He's always been more, shall we say, robust than me, even in our youth. He was always the stronger one, I was always the runt. I was concerned, yet I was also optimistic. He's doing quite well these days.

Christmas 2008 brought yet another challenge. An old spinal injury acted up as a result of my stumbling while stepping down off of a step-stool stringing holiday lights on the fireplace. I briefly lost the use of my right leg a week later, and was keeping my crutches handy for the remainder of the Holiday Week.

This year, 2009, has seen some key aspects of my life come to an end. One of them was the end of my Information Technology career. The job loss doesn't really need to be my exit from the IT world. I'm just making a choice to take my life in a new direction. My future security lies between my own two ears, not on some company's payroll.

Past years and especially this year have brought experiences I was not expecting, experiences that likely bring a lesson or two in their wake. My siblings and I have never been close, yet we all wonder why my Mom has remained among us for so long: she'll be 97 if she lives to see the end of this year. Perhaps some mission in her life remains to be realized.

Perhaps some purpose is found in these events that have touched our family. I will continue to explore them, and see what they bring to us and our lives.

My Best Wishes to One and All this Holiday Season. May the New Year bring all of us peace and prosperity!

We'll talk again soon!

Take care - be well!

Much Success!