Closing Out the Year

With Thanksgiving behind us, we now lean head first into the Christmas holiday season and the end of the year. From new reports on almost every major network, "Black Friday" has been a day of ups and downs.

The "downs": A Wal-Mart employee is trampled to death by people so anxious to save a buck.
The "ups": Major discounts, in some cases up to 80%, on many items.

Ok, so shopping is a major part of the holiday season.

Lest we forget, holiday parties, functions, gift exchanges, etc.
Just thinking about it makes me tired. Within one week where I work, we have a company dinner party, a company luncheon, a company cookie exchange, an office luncheon with gift exchange and a Christmas concert after dinner. Whew! Maybe I'll skip a few of these functions and save my waistline!

But more important than holiday shopping or Christmas parties, I think it is a time to reflect about what we have been through this year and who has been affected.

1. Our Military - They are still fighting on many fronts and thousands will not be home for the holidays.

2. All those employees that lost their jobs, their homes, their families and in some cases their lives because of the greed of those on Wallstreet and the auto industry. We will be paying for this for a long, long time.

As we head into the home stretch of 2008, I ask that we all continue to look towards the future with an open mind. I ask that we help those that are less fortunate. I ask that we continue to conserve electricity and fuel so that we can get out from under the grip of those rich oil barons.

We have so much to be thankful for. Lets close out this year and welcome 2009 with open minds, hearts and souls and hope and pray that it will be better than 2008.