Happy New Year!
I’m a day late in wishing you a Happy New Year, but I had a special date with my niece yesterday for her 11th birthday. For her birthday, she wanted time with me. She had gotten $100 for Christmas and just wanted her and I to go spend it like we were millionaires. She tried on this beautiful navy blue gown at Macy’s and was instantly in love. She felt like a Queen and she said “Auntie I’m buying THIS!” I was nervous about what she was going to find on the price tag and she was quickly disappointed to find out it was $83. Lucky for her, after Christmas sales on gowns are pretty impressive and she scored that gorgeous dress for $34!!!! She exclaimed that she is going to wear it to Church on Sunday with her new scrunchie. We finished our afternoon with a spectacular dinner together at her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden.
We have all had periods in our lives where its literally bad news after bad news after bad news. We all have experience with this and I think we can agree, it makes you stronger and wiser. It serves a purpose in our lives. The difference in 2020, is that we all went through it together. Everyone has struggled in some way or another. Not for nothing though. There is always a lesson to be learned.
2020 brought us some amazing opportunities to adjust at Kimball & Sons logging. We gained an amazing, experienced truck driver and a dedicated, hard working skidder operator. Our team is solid, we work so well together and have a mutual respect for each person’s role. Honestly, there is nothing better than working with a solid team. We took the opportunity to purchase a commercial building and open an office space on Route 26 to gain more visibility. We have developed new relationships within the industry and had endless opportunities to advocate for the Maine forestry industry. Our children have had the chance to spend a little more time with their Dad and Grampa in the woods and learn the trade up close and personal. Forestry mulching provided some supplemental income as we struggled with mill closures and slow markets due to covid. These are just some of the amazing things gained in the past year and we will choose to focus on those. I won’t subscribe to the “2020 Sucks” mindset.
Time is our most precious currency and I am leaving 2020 eternally grateful for the time I have spent with those I love. I am leaving 2020 feeling like my niece did yesterday. With her time with me she was a Queen with a million dollars to burn. It wasn’t the money that made her rich on her birthday.
~ HAPPY NEW YEAR! May the lessons of 2020 continue to guide you through 2021 ~