THE GRAND FINALE

Tomorrow we celebrate the grand finale of the year 2011. In a musical, the grand finale usually has some loud, strong music as if signifying the importance of the ending.. Maybe we should look back and instead of celebrating the entrance of a New Year, perhaps we should celebrate the past year. Did we earn a “grand finale” this year? Do we have anything to celebrate? What did we do with last year? Did we accomplish the things we wanted to? I think I’ll review my last year’s New Year’s resolutions and see how I did.

• I will look forward to and enjoy the winter storms, the birth of new calves, the long evenings in front of the fireplace and face the challenge of slick roads.

I always enjoy the long evenings and the more relaxed schedule we have in the winter. The birth of the new calves is a miracle-in-progress in my mind, and I love watching the cows with their new offspring.

• When spring arrives, I will welcome the sight of the first robin, marvel at the song of the meadow lark, and anticipate the spring cattle drive.

I always look for the first robin. It seems like robins are a promise of good weather to come. However, I know I didn’t take the time to marvel at the song of the meadow lark. In fact, I hardly remember listening to that beautiful song all summer. Most summer I try to walk along the canal bank up to the end of the pasture and back and few times a week. That’s when I listen for the song of the meadow larks. This summer I didn’t do my walking. I missed out on a lot there. Watching TV and the Gabby Gifford story, they told how music can help the brain heal. I need some brain healing myself, but in a much more minor way than Gabby. The song of the meadow lark would definitely help. Must work on that this year.

• The long summer days will give me the opportunity to garden, work in the yard, take photos, and have picnics, with the chance of spending time at the ranch and with family. 

Oops, failed again. I did spend time at the ranch and with my family, but not as much as I had hoped to. As I looked through my photos I’d taken, I didn’t do as well on that either. We didn’t spend one night at the ranch this past year. This fall I made the decision that next summer we will spend at least one and maybe two nights a week up there. I need to keep working on that.

• Fall time, the time of harvest has always been a time of celebration for me – the hard work is over and we see the fruits of our labors as we harvest our crops, preserve the vegetables from the garden, enjoy the cool evenings and hot days. And we have the added benefit of being able to observe our annual color show when the trees and shrubs put on their fall wardrobes, which prepares us for the black and white of  the coming winter.

Boyd and I did go for a couple of rides this fall and enjoyed the fall foliage. And I did can a lot of food, but my garden got neglected a lot along the way.

When it comes right down to it, taking time to enjoy the journey we are on is really important. If we get so busy with mundane things, we miss out on a lot. And where would we be if we didn’t have things to strive for, to do better, to improve, to make things better for others. Those are things I will work on this year and hope I earn a “grand finale”.