From the Editor

Between thawing frozen pipes and putting earmuffs on calves, hopefully these cold winter days allow a few moments to catch up on your reading list. One book in particular has got me thinking deeply and laughing loudly.

If you’re reading this, you know something I don’t: who won Super Bowl 53. As I write this editorial, the divisional round of the NFL playoffs is complete.

One recent morning, I caught bits and pieces of a segment on gratitude from the Today Show. I caught enough of it to make the snap decision to make “gratitude” my word of the year for 2019, but not enough to go back and find the segment online.

Over the holidays, a relative called and asked whether my sons and I could help him out.

“Whatcha doing this weekend?” he asked over the phone.

If you tuned into a news station or scrolled through social media over the past 12 months, odds are it didn’t brighten your day. Looking at the year in review, top headlines proclaimed political scandals, more mass shootings, horrific wildfires and just about anything to do with President Donald Trump.

I wrote earlier this year about selecting “joy” as my one word for the year, based on the concept from the book My One Word. I’ll follow the example Editor Peggy Coffeen set in 2017 and provide an update on how it’s going. In short, not great.