Happy New Year! Well, are you glad the 00’s are over? Technically, of course, December 31, 2009 was not the last day of the decade. December 31, 2010 is! That’s because there is no year “0.” Therefore, the first day of the first decade on our calendar was January 1st in the year “1.” So the last day of that decade is actually December 31st, year “10.” Just like the last day of the last decade was really December 31, 2000, although everyone was already celebrating the arrival of a New Millennium at midnight on December 31, 1999. Having readied ourselves for the Y2K Bug to cause world chaos (and either feeling a sense of relief or saying “I told you so” when nothing happened), the tragedy that actually did materialize on 9/11 came as a complete shock to everyone. Click here for a 2000-2009 Timeline. My personal family timeline goes as follows:

April 4, 2000 - Our third child, Joshua Paul, is born.
March 2001 - My husband, Rich, is laid off from a company he worked at for 15 years.
April 2001 - Rich gets a new job.
April 6, 2002 - My grandmother dies at age 96.
June 2002 - Rich is laid off.
September 2002 - Rich gets a new job.
January 2004 - Rich is laid off.
March 12, 2004 - Rich's mother passes away from cancer.
June 2004 - Rich gets a new job.
July 22, 2004 - My first book, Learning for Life, is published.
September 2005 - Rich is laid off.
June 2006 - Rich gets a new job.
September 2007 - Rich climbs a 14,000 ft. Rocky Mountain peak for his 50th birthday.
May 30, 2008 - Our oldest son, Peter, homeschooled all his life, graduates high school.
September 25, 2008 - We revisit our favorite honeymoon places for our 20th Anniversary.
October 30, 2008 - Rich is laid off.
November 27, 2008 - A packrat causes $4,000 damage to our one and only vehicle.
November 2008 - Peter is awarded a full tuition scholarship at the community college.
March 2009 - Peter's appendix ruptures and he misses two weeks of school.
October 2009 - Rich finally gets a job, only to be let go after a month.
December 2009 - Teri logs over 2000 miles on her exercise bike. My original goal was 1000 miles but now that I know it can be done I've set a 2000-mile goal for this year. ;)

Talk about ups and downs! Time Magazine called the last ten years the “decade of sorrows” and said it was “one heart-breaking disaster after another.” How true, and that was certainly the case for me and my family. If I was a superstitious person, I would have sworn I’d broken a mirror and been cursed with seven years of bad luck. Except that the bad luck didn’t stop after the seventh year! Kind of ironic when we were so excited about a new millennium, to have it start out like this. And yet...

We have to remember that even if bad times do last a long time, they won’t last forever. For everything there is a season. Good times and bad times come and go, like drought cycles or the ebb and flow of ocean tides. No matter what, there is always hope for a better tomorrow. That’s one thing that can never be taken away. After all, the Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Of course, He doesn't say it will happen overnight! While we're waiting, we must do our best to enjoy the life that God has given us at this moment in time and have faith that our luck will change one of these days.

Blessings to you all and best wishes for a happy, healthy new year!

*I've seen a 15-page e-book of Ben Franklin's Proverbs on sale elsewhere for $3.99, so I think this one is a great deal considering it's 36 pages and includes supplemental lessons!