Counting Down

We're nearly done with the year; there are three hours, thirty-seven minutes remaining as I type this. What have we done? Well, business was good ... we had a great time in England and Paris ... the children are growing like little (and not-so-little) weeds ... our circle of friends has expanded a bit more with the addition of a lovely lady working at one of our favorite stores who just happens to be from the same town as Mark ... elder daughter has decided to live with us and go to DCMS ... there are just so many things for which I'm thankful.

With all the horrible things going on around the world (Bhutto's assassination, the continued waste of American lives and treasure in Iraq, Cheney's thinly-veiled threats toward Iran, genocide in Darfur, hunger and disease and pestilence and famine and so many other horrible tragedies that go on in individual lives every day that never make the news, a dear friend moving to Alabama), I am thinking of how lucky I am.

I have the great good fortune to be married to the man of my dreams, to have three healthy, intelligent children who love and care deeply for others ("They're better than you deserve" is how my mother puts it, and I must admit that I can't argue), to have a job (two, really) that I truly love, to have the warmest, funniest, best friends a girl could ever hope to have, to live in what is unarguably one of the finest nations on the planet (and to have a two-term limit for the idiot who is resident at 1600 Pennsylvania, thank God) ... and for lack of other terms, to have ENOUGH. Any one of these things on its own would be cause for gratefulness on my part; having all of them is nearly overwhelming at times.

In what may or may not wind up being my parting thought of 2007, kindly allow me to share with you (or remind you of) the lyrics that Prince wrote once upon a time. Maybe he was feeling the same way then as I am now, maybe not. Any way you slice it, this sums it up for me at the moment.

Don't sleep 'til the sunrise, listen 2 the falling rain
Don't worry 'bout tomorrow, don't worry 'bout your pain
Don't cry unless you're happy, don't smile unless you're blue
Never let that lonely monster take control of U
Be glad that U r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that U r free
There's many a man who's not
Be glad 4 what U had baby, what you've got
Be glad 4 what you've got
I know my heart is beating, my drummer tells me so
If U take your life 4 granted, your beating heart will go
So don't sleep until you're guilty, 'cuz sinners all r we
There's others doing far worse than us, so be glad that U r free
Be glad that U r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that U r free
There's many a man who's not
Be glad 4 what U had baby, what you've got
Be glad 4 what you've got
Soldiers are a marching, they're writing brand new laws
Will we all fight together 4 the most important cause?
Will we all fight 4 the right 2 be free?
Free (Be glad that U r free)
Free 2 change my mind (Free 2 change your mind)
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime (Free 2 go most anywhere,anytime)
I'm just glad, I'm just glad I'm free, yeah (Be glad that U r free)
There's many a man who's not (There's many a man who's not)
Glad 4 what I had baby, (Be glad 4 what U had and)
Glad 4 what I got, oh yeah (for what you've got)
Oh I'm just glad, I'm just glad I'm free,yeah (Be glad that U r free)
Free 2 change my mind (Free 2 change your mind)
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime (Free 2 go most anywhere,anytime)
(Be glad that U r free)
(There's many a man who's not)
I'm so... (Be glad 4 what U had and for what you've got)

Best wishes to you and yours for peace, happiness, health, and prosperity in 2008!