May We Embrace Another Year, Ready for the Challenges and Joys…
I don’t know about you, but I am totally amazed that 2017 slipped by so quickly. Time seems to fly by faster with
each passing year.
It’s been a hell of ride this year, with some highs and lows — the lows being two back operations in quick succession around Easter. I ended up in hospital for two weeks and am still recovering.
As a nation, we endured some incredible hardships that will leave their mark in the coming years.
In Westminster, a deranged lunatic killed five people and injured many when he took his truck onto the sidewalks with the sole intent to hurt innocents.
Two months later, another unimaginable tragedy occurred in Manchester, only the body count was larger and the target was primarily a group of young girls.
As a nation, we continue to heal.
Spending time with friends and family is like a healing balm upon the soul.
So, when I think of the highs of 2017, I think of some wonderful times spent with family and friends. We gather for the holidays, relax and bask in the warmth of each other’s company. In those moments, all feels right in the world.
We’ve also enjoyed the warm association of many treasured clients this year. The Claims Desk is now dealing with more claims than ever before, as we continue our partnership with our building repair network Sarrani.
We also took on our new Loss Assessor, Debbie Palfrey, who has proven to be a real asset to the business.
The timing could not have been better, as she joined just as I was going under the surgeon’s knife.
Her help at that time was invaluable.
Now, as we approach Christmas and Hanukkah, our thoughts turn to spending time with our families, eating, drinking and merriment. It’s a lovely time of year, and I always look forward to sharing it with my wife, kids, parents and sister.
Once Christmas is over, my wife and I go down to the Kent coast for a few days to see in the new year. We spend time together, going for long walks on empty, cold, wind-swept beaches, which we love.
We been doing this for several years now, and find it really is a wonderful way to recharge and reset ourselves for the year ahead.
So what have been your highs and lows this year?
Whatever they are, I hope you take some happy memories with you into 2018.
It’s inevitable that good and bad things will happen to you in the coming year, but if you move forward with confidence, I have no shadow of a doubt that you can’t meet them. I love the teachings of the great Stoic philosophers, and as the great Marcus Aurelius said about change:
“Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too.”
May we all move forward into the new year in a spirit of optimism, regardless of the challenges we’re surely to face.
And may we all enjoy the warm embrace of our loved ones this holiday season.
Happy holidays!
