Long Time No Write

I think my years resolution to not make New Year's Resolutions has caused me to not write as well. January was evil, and maybe I just want to forget it. However, Doug now has a job, and I might just enjoy this semester now that I am feeling better. School is going really well, despite the big snows and ugly commutes. I like my students this semester. They were pretty good last semester too, but this time I have six classes, and the greater variation has been good for my teacher state of mind.

So now it is officially 2008, and a month into this New Year I am looking up. Maybe it is the eternal optimist/pragmatist in me waking back up after a year long sabbatical, but I think this year will be better than last. Ironically this wave comes on due to the loss of a great man, Gordon B. Hinckley.

He was a kind person in a world of unkindness. He was tolerant, loving, and wise, and I will miss him deeply. It isn't like he knew me, though he was extremely attentive and loving toward me the two times we met. Many people loved him, millions of individuals felt he loved them, and I know he did. He was the President of my church, and I know many people feel his loss acutely. It isn't that I am grief stricken; I am saddened, but overall I am happy that he is beyond pain and has reunited with loved ones, especially Marjorie, his wife. He was a jolly old man, and much like Santa, everywhere he went joy followed. I know words are inadequate and trite to try and express my intent. I guess the easiest way to explain it is to simply say, he was goodness epitomized and the world won't be the same now that he is gone.

I have spent much of this last week thinking of my father, and the other good people that I love that are gone now. Times like this make me appreciate my faith and draw me closer to God. They make me grateful for the things I have and the people I love that are still here. I think that this last week has reminded me of the many things I need to do to be a better person, and perhaps it has given me the stamina and fire to quit thinking about it and actually just do what I need to do. So I am looking at this new year, and I believe that I will be able to make effective changes. We shall see.