A Year of Good Things

On New Year's Eve, we once again opened our family's Good Things jar. All year long, the jar sits in our living room with slips of paper and a pen nearby. Every member of the herd is welcome to write a good thing on a piece of paper when a good thing happens, and then drop it into the Good Things jar for safe keeping until the last day of the year. Then, we sit as a family and take turns reading all of the good things that happened during the year.

Occasionally, a not so good thing slips into the jar and someone uses it as a vehicle to torment a sibling.  Sigh. Here and there someone slips something ornery into the jar. But, for the most part, it is a beautiful thing. It is a jar of memories that might otherwise be forgotten; the little day-to-day events that slip by way to fast.

This year was very challenging for our family. A lot of not so good things happened. One child was hospitalized with a virus. Two children had surgery. Our house fire continued to haunt us as the insurance payment remained in arbitration. We started the year with one child still in residential mental health treatment, and we ended the year with that child running away from home. It would be easy to let the challenges define the year, but it wouldn't be right.

This year was full of good things too. We cleared away the remaining construction debris in our yard and got siding installed on the house. We worked together as a family to build a fire pit in the back yard and together we spread three tons of river gravel around it. The oldest child moved into his own apartment and completed his second year of college. This fall, I went back to college and earned an A in all four courses proving to the college and more importantly, to myself, that my lapse in grades was a temporary fall resulting from the house fire. It was a year of recovery and healing.

The Good Things jar reminded us of even more special moments from 2014. There were 8th grade fancy dances, 4th grade school plays, homecoming parades and dances, and first color guard competitions. There were baptisms, tests passed, awards earned, and clay teapots selected for district art competitions. It was a year of smiles and celebrations.

In the midst of the challenges, there were good things. It was a good year.

Welcome, 2015! The Good Things jar is waiting to be filled with your joy.