Hello, 2011

Welcome, 2011.  You’ve finally made it here.  Our family said good-bye to 2010 by sitting together in the living room listening to an audiobook.  Not a real big send-off.  I know that I, along with the rest of the family, grew and learned a lot over the course of the year, but I’m happy to have it behind us.

What do you have in store for us, 2011?  There are very few things we can be sure of, and I’ve given up my habit of planning life down to the detail.  Nonetheless, we can expect that Rosie Girl will take Driver’s Ed in the spring so that she can get her driver’s license in the summer when she turns 16.  And we are looking forward to Wild Man becoming a teen-ager.  In the meantime, PWM and I will continue our stroll through our forties.

I’m excited for the new year, really, I am.  Watching Rosie Girl and Wild Man grow up is such an amazing thing!  I’m still praying that God will see fit to take away the headaches.  And, just to make sure we’re covering all the bases, I’ll start the year with a strict “migraine diet”.  (Thankfully, PWM can cook so the rest of the family won’t be subjected to rice, chicken breasts and a few veggies for the first several weeks of the year!)

But, 2011, if you are bringing some surprises, you should know that I’m not going to be alone in tackling them.  Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.”  (I memorized the verse in the KJV while I was in elementary school, and I kind of like how “Lo” sounds.  Very old-fashioned.)  So, 2011, I’m starting the year with the Creator of the Universe with me, the One who “has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of self-discipline.”  Not only that, but PWM and I are as close as two people can be and I have other friends with whom I share my life.  2011, I’m not facing you alone – I have lots of love, support, and help for whatever you are going to bring.

Welcome, 2011.  Let’s make it a great one!