Looking Back...My Last New Years Eve Blog Post

It's been one year since I wrote this, 366 days, 12 months. Since 2013 I wrote a blog post on New Years Eve. Sometimes the words came quickly, sometimes I had to search, but every night, before 12 midnight Mountain Time, I hit the "Publish" button and another blog post was added to the library.

A few months ago, I stopped the dailies. It got to the point where I needed to stop, to do something else. I miss it sometimes, like tonight as I sit in our front room watching TV and wait for a new year to begin. So, maybe you read this last year, maybe not. It's not so much a "New Years" post, but it's what I was thinking about 366 days, 12 months ago.

Happy New Year Everyone! May it be your best ever.

 Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion states that, "For ever action there is an equal and opposite reaction." In the Book of Mormon, a scripture says basically the same thing, "For it must needs be, that there is opposition in all things..."

The world of science and the world of religion agree (something I believe happens more than people realize...). It's easy to understand Newton's Law...you see an object being acted upon--jumping up in the air, for example--takes energy to jump and gravity pulls you down. Opposition in a spiritual sense...well, that's a little more complicated. Think of the "Shoulder Angel and Devil" as an example. We can look around and see the evil in the world...sometimes it's harder to see the good, but--and I do believe this wholeheartedly--the good is there, stronger than the evil.

It's science.

This past week I learned that a dear friends's family lost their matriarch. She passed after an eight-year struggle with cancer. I only learned of her deteriorating condition the day before. My friend let us all know that his wife might not see 2024. She passed the next day. That night he posted a photo of a tribute given to his sweet wife and family by his neighbors. The passing breaks your heart...the tribute shows how wonderful people can be to each other.

Directly under my friend's post another friend posted a picture of a newborn, a child born only hours before. One of the most impactful events that can happen to human beings is the birth of a child. They sent the social media post to proclaim their joy to us all.

I believe the only connection between these two families is me. I've not seen my friend who suffered the loss in years, but social media can keep us connected. The same can be said for the family with the new edition. Interestingly enough, both the expression of grief and of joy were listed one under another on my social media feed.

Opposition in all things.

One family will start the new year missing their mother/spouse/friend...the other will start a hopefully life-long journey as their family increases. Pain for one family, elation for the other.

The wonderful and tragic thing about life is both families will experience the same thing while they travel throughout this life. My friend and his wife experienced the miracle of childbirth. They know what's coming for the other family. And, since we all die, the family with the new baby has experienced loss, either a close family member or someone more distant, we've all attended a funeral.

The rest of the Book of Mormon scripture reads, "If not so...righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad." Whether or not you believe in this book of scripture, the philosophy behind the words are time-tested facts. Without pain, you cannot know joy, without work you cannot appreciate rest, without contention you cannot understand peace.

To every action there's an equal and opposite action.

I mourn for my friend's family. Having never experienced a loss so personal, I cannot understand their pain. I'm also happy for my other friends. At any given time, we're subject to the joys and hardships of life, some severe, some mild, but always evolving. I'm thankful for these experiences, the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet. The trick is to enjoy the good times and remember the bad times only exist because the good times happened first.

Give Thanks...For Continued Traditions

 Every year, life seems to get in the way of things, renewing the car's license tags before they expire, not throwing away all those credit card applications so they just sit on the counter, forgetting to buy dishwashing detergent before the old stuff runs out. 

And making home-baked treats for our neighbors at Christmas time.

Thank goodness my wife's on top of things.

She baked yesterday and today we frosted, put on plates, and delivered them to the neighbors. It's one of those traditions I'm glad we keep alive. Another tradition, today we participated in our annual ward Christmas program at church. It's something that's become as much of the holiday as enjoying Christmas lights or singing along with your favorite holiday songs.

I'm thankful for those traditions. Even though my wife did most of the work on the treats, it was fun walking to each door in a light rain to offer small tokens of appreciation for them and wishing them a Merry Christmas. I'm thankful for our neighbors and friends, for our little community, for the ward Christmas program (and our choir...). I'm thankful to have made it another year.

I'm thankful for continued traditions.

Give Thanks...Back In The Musical Saddle

 Tonight, I stood with several other tenors, basses, altos, and sopranos, as well as a conductor and orchestra and we performed selections from G.F. Handel's The Messiah. 

It felt good.

Of course, my voice is thrashed.

Back in the day, at this time of year, I was singing several hours every day. In college, our a'cappella choir sang daily, and at several times as fundraisers for trips. Later, when I got involved in community theater, several months of rehearsals culminated in performing every day for a month, and sometimes, twice on Saturdays.

It's been years since I did a Christmas show, seven or eight, I think. I miss it in some ways, but boy...doing a show at Christmas is tough.

The last time I sang Handel's The Messiah was around thirty years ago. My wife and I sang with the Utah Symphony Chorus...incredible experience. For the past couple of weeks, I dusted off my music-reading skills and jumped into the project at our local church.

I miss performing, and because it's performing, I think I can somehow return to those days and start performing again, but that's impossible, just as it's impossible to return to my youth when I had few responsibilities...just going to school, performing, and hanging out with my friends.

With age comes wisdom, at least, I hope so. Tonight, I think I enjoyed the music more than I ever had. The musicians were not world-class like the last time I sang the notes (I do NOT include my self in the "world class" category...). It was imperfect, but beautiful.

I'm thankful for the many opportunities I've had in my life to perform, for the life-long friendships I made from those days. Singing changed my life...literally. I had fun tonight.

It felt good to be back in the musical saddle.

Give Thanks...For A Good Deal, Even If They Never Get Used

 Hard to pass up a good deal.

It's probably been half a decade since I last went skiing. If my 59-year old self told my 17-year old self that I rarely go skiing during ski season, my younger self would not believe it. It would seem so strange. Then again, I doubt my 17-year old self would understand that things would change...

Namely, the cost of the sport.

Back in the day, you could go to almost any Northern Utah resort and ski all area/all day for under $12. If you wanted to spend more, you could go to Snowbird or Park City of Deer Valley. When we had a little extra cash, we'd go to Snowbird and ski all area w/o the tram for $16. That's mind-blowing now. The most expensive part of skiing back then was the equipment.

That's why when I go to our local thrift store and I see practically new(ish...), unused skis for $12, I buy them, even if I don't need them or even if I may never actually use them. 

At my age, people don't do things they used to do. I know a lot of people my age or older who ski and good for them. I'd like to think I'd still be able to successfully navigate from the top of the mountain to the lodge. But, you never know. Plus, there's the ever-increasing costs. That's not going to change.

I'm thankful for a good deal. I'm thankful for my childhood memories of skiing with my family and friends. I'm thankful that others enjoy the sport so much. I don't know how good the Rossignols are that I bought, but I know the underside are almost pristine...not a lot of rock skiing were done. This year's ski season has just begun. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to take these babies out and give them a run or two. 

Time will tell.

Give Thanks...Knowing How The Other Side Feels

 For my team, the season is over. It ended Friday night in Florida. To call the U of U's 2024 football season a disappointment doesn't come close to reality.

It was much worse than that.

And our disappointment is mostly our fault. We thought it would be so much better. For years...heck, even decades, we've had it good, and this year was supposed to be the best yet. It started strong and then it went downhill, and by downhill, seven losses in a row. As a fan base, we went enjoying a Top 10 team, then we watched out ream fall out of the college football playoff picture, then it kept going down, and down...

And down.

Until, the team saw a winning record vanish and a shot at a bowl game--any bowl game--disappear.

Even thought it's been more than thirty years since I attended the University of Utah, I know something about how Utah fans think--not all fans, mind you--but many. They're fixated and fascinated on their rivals, the Brigham Young University Cougars. And even though I'm not a fan of that school (for the most part...), many of their fans are as fixated and fascinated on the U as well. They had to watch as their most-hated rivals built a national brand, a team talked about on the sports shows and podcasts. Man, that must have sucked. 

Now we, as Utah fans, know how that feels. We've watched as the men in blue win game after game and took the place on the sport shows and podcasts. When projections of the college football playoff were discussed, the big red U became a big blue Y. BYU was were having the season Utah fans felt like they deserved. For years, BYU played hard and battled week after week, having big wins, but not having the seasons Utah had.

Now, we know how they feel.

Now, they know how we feel.

I'm old enough to remember the dominant BYU teams of the 70s and 80s. As a Utah fan, it was brutal. Younger fans can't understand seeing the roles reversed, seeing Utah being (and winning...) BCS games, having undefeated seasons, a constant place in the Top 25. Utah will probably never reach the level BYU did because I believe the sport is rigged that no one but the Blue Bloods will ever win another national championship, but hey...that's just me.

It's been a tough year for local football teams. The U saw that college playoff as a real possibility. After a couple of losses, that dream died. Then, the Y became as close as a team can come to reaching the playoffs, before losing two key games. Like the U, the Y's dream came to an end.

In nine months, the teams will again don their uniforms and try and win as many games as possible. Changes on both sides will create interesting storylines and fodder for sports shows, podcasts, and banter around the water cooler. All I know is both sides--both teams--want their players to advance, to have a better season than the one that just ended. I'm thankful to be a fan. I've toned things down in my own life so the games don't affect me as much as they once did. I'm thankful that, as a fan, I can see how happy our rivals are. Their team had a great season, one they should be proud of. I'm thankful I got to enjoy so many successful Utah Utes years, and hopefully, they can return to their winning ways in 2025.

Funny, how things work out sometimes.