New Year's Resolutions

I just got back from an excellent week in Ohio visiting friends and family. Each year for Christmas, my Mom's side of the family all gets together at her brother David's house and this year I noticed that the big barn behind it had been torn down. After dinner, when everyone was gathered to open our gifts, David explained that when he had cleared out the barn, he'd found a machine for welding that my Grandfather had bought in the 1950's. After initially thinking about selling the copper coils inside it as scrap metal, he decided to do something a little bit different... something for which they even ended up on the front page of our hometown newspaper, The Daily Record!

The whole thing was just a really nice tribute to our Grandfather, for his generosity and positive outlook that sees the value in what others consider disposable. Those are traits that I hope I emulate in my own life, and something to resolve towards in 2009.