Likewise we humans tend to look back at the end of the year, to review the year's events and ascertain if any goals we set were accomplished, and to make new goals for the coming year.
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| Overlook of Sawtooth Mountains, between Ketchum-Sun Valley and Stanley, Idaho. |
Highlights of the year were our July camping trip to Idaho and meeting Bob's Swedish 2nd cousin, Mats Jacobsson and his young son Victor, who visited us in August. Bob's other Jacobsson cousins put on a very fun family reunion in his honor, and we got re-acquainted with long-lost kin. While in Idaho, we camped in our old tent with our dog Oscar and found that, with a few minor adaptations, Bob is still able to tent camp after his successful 2011 back surgery.
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| Canoeing at the Jacobsson family reunion with cousin Mats on the North Fork of the Crow River. |
There were also a few lesser, but still significant, events: canoeing the Crow River with my old junior high friend Connie Scott, helping a couple of friends with their political campaigns (one won and the other had fun trying) and working part-time at a local apple orchard this past fall. There were fun visits with grandchildren, get-togethers with friends and the satisfaction of helping a great many people get to their appointments through our county volunteer driver program. I even taught Vacation Bible School again for the first time since my kids were growing up. There is a full freezer and packed fruit cellar shelves to testify to the bounty of my garden.
A report from Bob's surgeon that his 2011 back surgery remains successful, and seeing him regain some of his old strength (although he will have life-long lifting restrictions) was another positive event. He was able to wean himself off a couple of medications which had undesirable side effects, so that was a plus as well. My health, too, received a good report when I passed a couple of diagnostic tests with good scores. As my doctor said, "Keep doing what you're doing."
In looking back, I see that I had a few goals that WERE completed: reading the King James Bible and completing a single-bed quilt for my youngest grandchild, who was outgrowing her crib. I also planted 60 small trees in the yard and finished most (but not all) of my side-hill landscaping project.
Some of the other goals: well, not so good. There are a bunch of uncompleted projects around the place. The weight loss goal was not achieved. A few of the things I set out to accomplish did not take place.
There were also disappointments over which I had no control: the deaths of several friends and colleagues, disappointing political events and tragedies around the globe, part-time positions for which I applied but was not selected, things I did my best on which did not succeed.
One forgets how much of one's identity is wrapped up in whatever job one has. As a retiree, I am still sorting out exactly where I belong in the "big picture" of things. Sometimes it seems like the value of my volunteer work and the stuff I do around the house is not as significant as the things I did as a newspaper reporter or as a county commissioner. But God's ways are not our ways. Pastor has been speaking the past couple of Sundays about the various gifts of the Holy Spirit and the parts of the Body of Christ. Each part is essential to the well being of all. We need to keep that in mind as we make plans for 2013.
