Well, here we are… the beginning of a new year… 2025… wow… who would have thunk it?!?! For many of us we use this as an excuse to make “resolutions” to change. If you are like me, they usually last through the first week… maybe. But could it be time for some honest change.
If you read this bit of rambling I force on you every month, you might remember that a few weeks back I hit a milestone birthday. As I said then… I won’t share the number, but it is a big one. So big that I honestly never expected to see it. For that I will thank God, my parents, my amazing wife and our great family physician because I have been blessed with a life that has not been conducive to being an extended stay.
From what Twila lovingly calls my “aggressive driving habits” to shooting pictures out of small aircraft with no seats and no doors to shooting up-close and personal video of guys who didn’t find my presence a good thing, I never thought much about lasting this long. Certainly the only other person on either side of my family tree to last past my current number is my big brother and, not including a year in the jungles of Vietnam, he’s lived about the same life as I have.
So, I say all that to say I am trying to wrap my head around being at this advanced age and still being healthy enough to walk a few miles a day, eat and drink pretty much anything I want and, depending on who you ask, still having most of my mental faculties. What now?
I’ve decided not to make the usual resolutions. Not going to lose weight. Save more money. Live a more healthy lifestyle. Let’s face it… those are the ones that never last more than days… if not hours. This year I’m going for some big ones instead.
I’ve been blessed to do things I love for work most of my career. With only a few exceptions I have worked for great folks who helped teach me my skills and reach my career goals. Of course, the worst boss I’ve had has been me… demanding too much all the time because I always felt you deserved my best and Twila would need the money when I’m gone. Who knew I would hang around to help her spend it!
So, this year I’m going to look for new opportunities to be better. No… seriously. A better husband… a better dad and grandfather… a better business partner to those who have to work with me through no fault of their own. I’m going to go back and finish a couple of things I started over the years that have bothered me ever since because I’ve never liked leaving things unfinished. It took me nearly 40 years to finally finish my college degree and I was already at the top of my career, but it just needed to be finished. Thanks to all the professors I truly annoyed.
And, last but certainly not least, I’m not going to retire and sit on my oversized bottom and watch the world go by. I’m going to use these “bonus years” to find and accept new challenges. Whether I seek them out or they fall in my lap I’m not going to ignore them but embrace them and hope they don’t finish the job that a number of rather unkind folks with guns, baseball bats and other unhealthy items have tried to finish over my extended career of taking pictures and telling stories that needed to be told.
In any case, if God grants me another year, I hope I get to share something here next year about at least one opportunity and/or challenge that fits into my “not-resolutions” plans for 2025. Until then, may God bless you and your family and give you the new year you are hoping for… Happy New Year!
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