A fond farewell to the first decade of the 21st Century

It seems almost unbelievable, doesn't it?

Here we are at the end of the first decade of the 21st century! Where did the time go?

I have decidedly mixed feelings about these past 10 years.

On one level, the national and international scene, it has been a terrible decade. It began with the election of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney--not a good way to start off a decade!

Then, of course, September 11, 2001 brought the terrorist attacks and we've been fighting them ever since.

Toward the end of the decade the United States experienced a crippling recession that continues to linger.

Finally, and in spite of the success of democratic policies, voters turned the House of Representatives back to the very party that brought us the first eight years of grief. Go figure.

So let's leave all of that. There's no use dwelling on the negative.

Is there anything positive to say about the first decade of the century? You bet there is--a lot.

Nearly midway through the decade I bid farewell to a successful and generally enjoyable career in education.

That was followed by the next several years of the best of all things--grand children!

All of this great stuff was interrupted briefly by some health issues but that too turned out to be OK.

And now to cap it off, the whole family has a second home to enjoy in Florida.

So all in all the reviews of these past 10 years are definitely mixed. But that's life. Thankfully life goes on. And more important the positive outweighs the negative.

So to one and all, Happy New Year and Happy New Decade. May it be a great one for you.