2008 -- What a year!! If years were fictional characters, 2008 would surely be the Grinch. Just like the Grinch, it slunk from home to home taking from everyone, the rich and the poor alike. No household was left untouched, in one way or another.
"Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!
Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast! He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash! Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. "And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!"
- From "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," by Dr. Seuss
But, like the Whos down in Who-ville, we are proving resilient. I have noticed that I am hearing a word being used much more frequently than in years past, and that word is "gratitude." It seems that most of us are emerging from the end of the long, dark tunnel that was 2008 changed in a very fundamental way. We are taking stock of our lives and realizing that -- even without all the hooplah and trappings (or maybe in spite of them) -- we have so much to be grateful for.
I am extremely grateful for all the blessings that have come my way this year. Here are just a few:
- I am grateful for my good health and the health of my family
- I am grateful for the many good friends that I have. They continue to show me what true friendship means, and I hope that in some small way, I have done the same for them
- I am grateful to have a career that I love, one that makes me look forward to getting out of bed in the morning. I am grateful that despite difficult market conditions I have been able to grow my business this year, thanks to the support of all my clients and to my real estate partner, Dawn McGuire
- I am grateful for the beautiful area I live in -- the North Georgia mountains. I have been all over the world, but there is no place that I find as beautiful as this
- I am grateful for the fried pies at Merciers and the tomato basil soup at Cantarberry's
As 2008 draws to a close, I simply want to say "thank you" to all. I have truly learned the meaning of what it is to be grateful and I look forward to welcoming 2009 with all of you in the spirit of gratitude, grace and friendship.
"Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all! He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same! And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
And what happened then...? Well...in Who-ville they say That the Grinch's small heart Grew three sizes that day!"
- From "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," by Dr. Seuss
What are YOU grateful for?
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