2016 Year End Reflections

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about the approaching end of 2016 is “Thank God, it’s finally over!” Logic tells me, though, not to get too hasty because in reality it is nothing more than the tick of a few seconds into a new year, nothing more.

This has been a rough year for the world due to the terrorist attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, Paris, and other cities. In the US, we’ve been repeatedly shaken by the violence by and against police officers, in addition to mass shootings.

The US and the world has witnessed a historical election year, one that may well have set back our small advances in racial relations. I didn’t vote for Trump, but I voted and that’s what matters. I pray every day that Trump proves to be a better president than I expect.

We’ve also experienced an extraordinary year of celebrity deaths, many of them too young. The most recent deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, only a day apart has been the most impactful for me. True, it’s a fact of life that the older you get, the more you witness death among those familiar to you, but it will take a while to absorb the fact that these two lovely, talented women are gone.

On a personal level, we said goodbye to a nephew, a soldier who was one of the estimated 22 who take their lives every day. But that sad farewell was leavened by the fact that it woke up his father to not take anyone, any day, for granted and the relationship with his remaining children has improved.

On the plus side, we welcomed three new little girls into the family and it was just announced that a fourth will be arriving in July of 2017. Her parents are over the moon as up to this point all their married children had only borne boys.

On a final note, there is much to look forward to in 2017 and I will definitely have hurdles to make in several areas, but I’m working on it. For now, as the waning hours of 2016 pass, I’m just going to keep rolling on.

---

This was written as part of #SOCS