It Was A Very Good Year...

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 It was in 1961, that a song was written and then recorded by Frank Sinatra, which we all sang with great enthusiasm. We had finished three years of nursing training, we could either go back home or apply and accept a ‘paying job’ anywhere we wanted to be. Several classmates had already made wedding plans, and there were no more curfews. There were several who chose to further their education, travel, and work toward new goals. The majority of my classmates were now twenty-one years of age, and that was a big deal!

Times have changed… we’ve had some great years with wonderful experiences, and we’ve had some ‘not-so-good’ years that we don’t want to repeat. We’ve had good jobs, been able to enjoy vacation times, and we’ve watched our families grow up. We’ve even been able to welcome and enjoy grandchildren… who are not ‘children’ any more, but mature young adults, stretching their ‘wings’ to get ready to fly. Life carries on!

Where were you in 2000, the year a computer bug threatened to bring down modern civilization? It was the Y2K bug that brought the world together. Experts sounded the alarm, and politicians listened. The crisis was averted due to the unprecedented international effort of governments and private sector leaders around the world. Computers were new and the world was learning how it worked. I had my computer for over 15 years, had a home-based word processing business, and was concerned that I would lose all my files if the virus would hit my computer. We stayed up to watch the new year arrive, and learned that my computer was still working. I’m sure that I checked it again in the morning to make sure that it was still working.  Have the events of this year brought the world together again? We need to look around… find out what has been happening in our own community?

Now we are at the end of 2020, and we have the opportunity to look back and review the year that was. Are there some things lodged in our memory that, in spite of the many negative reports and personal events, we can still sing the last verse of the song…

But now the days are short, I’m in the autumn of the year

And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs

From the brim to the dregs, and it poured sweet and clear

It was a very good year.

I’m still here; I am rich in family, neighbors and friends. Most of all, I have a faith that is strong, and even though I don’t understand the mind of God, I know that He is the source of peace, joy, and love.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


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