There Is Always Hope

Welcome 2015 -- we're glad you're here.  

 source

Last year was a strange, and difficult, year in many ways; do you think so?  The people of our nation (and around the world) experienced many challenges -- unusually cold and bitter weather last winter due to a polar vortex, something I'd never heard of before, how about you?  :)  High unemployment; high food and gas prices; constant, confusing, and expensive changes in our health coverage; loss of health coverage for some; and most recently, protesting, rioting, looting, destruction of local businesses, and loss of life.

Then in other news of the strange and unexpected -- Tony Romo is playing well and the Dallas Cowboys have been winning games, several of them.  :-D  Sorry, I couldn't resist.  :-D  Please no nasty e-mails; I promise I have nothing against the Dallas Cowboys.  I'm just surprised they're doing so well.  Then, a movie, which in my humble opinion is probably extremely silly and inane, is now of supreme interest because Sony was hacked and threatened with attacks if the movie was shown at theaters.  On Christmas morning, I couldn't even listen to the Hallelujah Chorus on You Tube; apparently it was overloaded by people trying to watch "The Interview" online.  Sigh.  It's a crazy old world, I sometimes think.

For us here at Forest Manor, 2014 was a challenging year in some regards, but it had its good points, too.  We got to go to Charleston, SC and Oak Island, NC -- two very nice breaks from the everyday routine.  My father spent five weeks in the hospital back in the summer, which was a scary time for us, but he is slowly recovering.  Our son lost his job in August, but thankfully, he has found a new job (with better pay) and he'll start that on Monday.  Thank you Lord!  We have had a health issue with my beloved Mr. Forest Manor which has required biopsies, but thankfully, that remains okay.  And for comic relief in all this, we have a puppy who makes the Tasmanian Devil look sweet and docile.  ;)

 I'm also aware that our problems are very small compared to what some people have to deal with.  We are mindful of our blessings.  We have each other, our son, our parents and siblings, good friends and neighbors, and we have food to eat everyday and a place to lay our heads at night.

I have to tell you that it got to the point this year that I just couldn't even stand to listen to the news at all.  Nothing but anger, hatred, and accusations, from one group of Americans to another.  But these voices don't speak for all of us; they don't represent the good people out there who are kind to each other and work hard to make the world a better place.  That's why I have hope for 2015 and the future.

My husband and I are big fans of The Lord of the Rings movies.  I didn't expect to enjoy these movies.  I read the Tolkien trilogy about 30 years ago, but when we went to see the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, I was going for my husband's sake.  I was more interested in seeing a romantic comedy when we had a rare outing to the movie theater.  But I got interested in these characters and their struggles and triumphs, and we've watched these movies many times at home over the years.  Today, I thought about one of my favorite short scenes from The Two Towers --

How about you?  What gives you hope for the coming year?  Thank you for your visit and have a great weekend.

Wishing you hope and good cheer,

Denise