By LIZ MARCHI
I always over decorate for Christmas. My age really is showing: when you add “just one new thing” to the Christmas collection each year and now you could open a retail store. Oh well. The New Year always motivates me to “edit” stuff. So decorations are disappearing as I swear we are going away for Christmas next year. I say that and then think about my Mom who always did big Christmas celebrations and no longer has the stamina. So maybe we again will be at home with me cursing the tangled lights.
My marriage survived a real test last week as we “edited” Jon’s closet. For the record, we did not touch his collection of Montana Centennial T-Shirts. I am sure he has EVERY one. If you are interested, let me know. Otherwise, he was quite reasonable. I took the time to assure him that HE would make the decisions about what stayed and went. Once again, psych 101, if you can make them think it’s their idea, you are there. Then there is the fact that he is actually in better shape at 70 than he was at 60. There is nothing like getting rid of pants that are just too big.
View from our deck over the New Years weekend. Just love that alpenglow!
I have to say I am not sad to see 2016 end. I had old friendships impacted by the bitter politics of our time. For me in 2017, I am going to be closer to home. That doesn’t mean we won’t love traveling or learning or keeping up with the world. It does mean that I will again try to abide by the wisdom of accepting the things I cannot change and putting my energy in places where I can make a difference. And I will be careful about who gets my ear.
Palmer’s first stethoscope.
Food is going to be a focus both personally and for business. The relationship between health, happiness and good food is strong. The personal satisfaction I get from gardening is enormous. The physical labor, the tempo of growing and harvesting and then the preparation is enormously satisfying for me. I am going to cook more. We are subscribing to Blue Apron and are about to try Hello Fresh. I love these startups that make healthy, delicious meals available to us with no waste. I love to cook but rarely have the time to plan and shop.
My family is closer. Our grandchildren are growing so fast, Annie and Matt have moved back to Bozeman from North Dakota, Palmer has finished Vet School and will be in Auburn, near my parents, as she does her clinical year. Cece is working hard and traveling a great deal. Watching them navigate adulthood and the economic challenges of trying to raise families, and buy homes and is daunting in some ways.
In gratitude, I begin a New Year so thankful for the journey traveled and the road ahead. May your 2017 be rich in friends, family, health and happiness.
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Liz Marchi lives on a ranch in Polson, Montana with her husband Jon. She is the Fund Coordinator for the Frontier Angel Fund and spends a lot of time thinking and learning about entrepreneurs, the economy and Montana’s unique place in the world. She has three daughters and a stepson and daughter and a grandchild. She graduated from Hollins College and is entering the final quarter of life…unless we go into overtime.