In just the wink of an eye, 2018 is in the past, and the New Year is upon us!  I am excited about the new year and what it holds in store.  At the same time, I am so amazed that what was supposed to be "just a few days off" for me turned into several months off.  We welcomed our second grandchild into the world during 2018, and that took some time away from writing and other things, but it was a pleasure to spend so much time with my precious grandchildren.  If time cannot be recovered, then this was certainly one of the best ways I could have used this time.  Some of the time I did lose without the hope of recovery and with the knowledge that I would have rather done almost ANYTHING else was the time I spent "filling in" for employees who seemed to be unceasingly ill, who needed off at the spur of the moment, and for one who took off whenever the time off was desired, until that employee was fired.  In 2019 I will not make THAT mistake again.

Christmas 2018 proved to be one of the "merriest" Christmases ever for my immediate family.  None of us stressed this year as far as trying to find the "right" gifts or spending a lot of money just to spend money.  Even without all that, this Christmas was a blast!  Our little grandkids (and their parents) along with our son were all gathered with us this year, and I have to say that was the biggest and best gift of all, far outshining all of the things that were gifted.  My lovely bride and Child B (my daughter) tickled our tummies with some great cooking and some great cookies as well.  We all had such a great time.

Now, on this first day of 2019, I begin the new year with several goals to meet, but only one "resolution" and that is to LIVE each moment in the present.  Yes, goals hark toward the future, but if one has no goals, and no plans on how to reach those goals, than that person is not moving forward, not growing.  The alternative is no longer acceptable for me.  I have some goals, and I have the plans to meet those goals, but whether I do or not, I am going to enjoy my life and my loved ones.  For all of my readers, I have you in my thoughts and prayers as the new year breaks upon us.

I am not going to discuss most of my goals on this blog, but one of my goals I want to talk about, and will accomplish, is to finish a book by the end of this year.  I have, for the past two years or so, been in touch with a very accomplished and successful writing team, each of them successful in their own right as well.  I have gained a lot of knowledge from these two special people, and I intend to soak in even more from them this year.  I will not reveal their names, but they have numerous books to their credit, and have even featured some of my experiences in a couple of their books and magazine articles.  Some of their credits include several installments of the Indiana Jones series, and it has been an honor and a privilege that they have shared their time and their experience with me.

It is great to have the blog rolling again, and I hope to have some interesting posts, some educational posts, and some emotional posts, that will be engaging and thought-provoking.  I will also post some articles that will just be entertaining.  One difference in the blog for the coming year, and for the remaining time that I blog, is that I will make very few, if any, political posts this year.  There are plenty of political blogs and political websites out there, as well as on television, so I will not add my little political knowledge and feeble opinions to that particular hue and cry. There are so many other things to blog about, as far as my interests, and hopefully yours too,  are concerned. Thanks again for sticking with me, and Happy New Year!!!