President’s Message

Hi Newcomer Friends,

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. I hope you have been enjoying good health and good holidays this season. I hope you have been living “your best life.”

As I am writing this, we are approaching Christmas, Channukah and a brand new year.

I am thinking about the metaphor for a new year. The little baby comes in and walks out the old man who represents the old, last year. In much of conversation with friends, I find that we often reflect on our lives and most striking is how fast the years have flown.

2024 was no different in my mind. I was just asking my grandkids what they wanted for the holidays last year and now all of us are another year older. It feels like the last year and even the last couple of decades have just flown by. It is scary. It is wonderful and it is terrible.

I am reading an Alice Hoffman novel and to me she is a master craftsman of words. She moves my emotions so many times and I love her writing. In this book which is the fourth in her Magic series, she says, “life is like a story book, only you never see how things turn out in the end.” That was very powerful for me because I am a curious mind and I want to know the ending. But as life will go on without us someday, I have decided to live each day as if it matters to the fullest. That actually is the way I have been living since I was about 38 and it makes each day richer and fuller. But unfortunately, it still goes fast.

So, let’s enjoy the magic of the holidays. Let’s try to laugh more often. Let’s call someone who might need some cheer. Let’s try to challenge our minds by trying something new and hard. I’ve been pushing myself not to give up so easy and have truly surprised myself.

2025 is the end of the first quarter of this new century we are living in. Let’s try to make it our most fantastic ever. Let’s pray for peace in the world and health and happiness for everyone we live with. I try to smile at everyone (even though my grandmother told me smiling makes wrinkles!!) and that may be the nicest thing that happens to them that day. Even when they don’t smile back.

Let’s be the change we want to see in the world by remembering to try to role model kindness and strength. Let’s compete against ourselves to try to be a better person each and every day and most importantly……….LETS HAVE FUN IN 2025!!!

Love,
Kathi