O! Holy night! The stars, their gleams prolonging
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Adolphe Adam
Merry Christmas!!!
As always when I wake up Christmas morn I am eternally grateful for all the blessings that I have, all the joy the previous year has brought me, and all the excitement that lies ahead. 2010 was a magically wonderful year, full of joy, accomplishments, and most importantly fabulous new friends that have impacted forever my life.
Winter has begun in earnest here in Madison and in the spirit of Christmas I am going to say some nice things about it. First off winter brings Christmas and Christmas music and I do love both of them. It brings Christmas shoppers into Sunshine Daydream and I always feel nice knowing that some happy little hippie is opening up a peace sign tie dye and smiling Christmas morning. I like that when I leave my water bottle in my car it is really cold in the morning. I like that the start of winter means spring isn't too far off and that means March Madness in Vegas with my best friends. And this winter means FLORIDA for me. I booked a flight to the Sunshine state to see my parents in mid-January and I can't wait.
I talked a little about not making this a winter that tacked on additional shake to my bowl
full of jelly. So I signed up to do an ironman triathlon. 2.4 miles of swimming, 110 miles on the bike and 26.2 miles on the ground. Now before you fall over laughing let me say that I have 30 days to finish it :) I have elicited the help of two of my favorite ridgers in this challenge Lisa and Betsey and I am happy to report we have all made great strides at knocking this thing out. I actually did a full sprint triathlon on Wednesday
of this week 3 miles on the treadmill, followed by 10 miles on the stationary bike, and a 1/2 mile in the pool. There was 6 miles of driving between the bike and pool but I'm not counting that :) So as we trudge forward towards the January 10th deadline I am confident we will all get this full "tri" done, but let me say for the record whomever can do this full ironman in one day is not really human.
Winter has begun in earnest here in Madison and in the spirit of Christmas I am going to say some nice things about it. First off winter brings Christmas and Christmas music and I do love both of them. It brings Christmas shoppers into Sunshine Daydream and I always feel nice knowing that some happy little hippie is opening up a peace sign tie dye and smiling Christmas morning. I like that when I leave my water bottle in my car it is really cold in the morning. I like that the start of winter means spring isn't too far off and that means March Madness in Vegas with my best friends. And this winter means FLORIDA for me. I booked a flight to the Sunshine state to see my parents in mid-January and I can't wait.
I talked a little about not making this a winter that tacked on additional shake to my bowlfull of jelly. So I signed up to do an ironman triathlon. 2.4 miles of swimming, 110 miles on the bike and 26.2 miles on the ground. Now before you fall over laughing let me say that I have 30 days to finish it :) I have elicited the help of two of my favorite ridgers in this challenge Lisa and Betsey and I am happy to report we have all made great strides at knocking this thing out. I actually did a full sprint triathlon on Wednesday
of this week 3 miles on the treadmill, followed by 10 miles on the stationary bike, and a 1/2 mile in the pool. There was 6 miles of driving between the bike and pool but I'm not counting that :) So as we trudge forward towards the January 10th deadline I am confident we will all get this full "tri" done, but let me say for the record whomever can do this full ironman in one day is not really human.
I miss a lot of things in winter time. I really miss my toes in the sand and my eyes watching a volleyball coming over the net. I miss my family, as I can not remember the last time we spent a Christmas together. I really miss waking up Christmas morning with the ones I love. I miss the feeling of climbing in the hot tub and the joy it brings me. I miss being able to go see my terps live. I miss my extended ridge family. I miss daylight after 4:30 in the afternoon. I miss not worrying about the road conditions. I miss walking outside, headphones blaring Sara, and climbing that damn mountain in snow canyon with my friends and getting my picture taken at the stop sign.
I am excited for 2011. Each year gets better than the one before it. I try not to spend much time blogging about my political beliefs because I believe people can have heartfelt beliefs that are the polar opposite of mine and in fact I used to have beliefs that are completely opposite of mine now. But I thought now would be a really good time to talk about one area that I firmly believe is lacking in this country. Health care is something that every society should guarantee its citizens. If people are sick they should be cared for. If people are injured they should be fixed. People should never have to face decisions where they have to choose remedies based on their ability to pay. If a society does not treat all of it's members equally when it comes to the basic welfare of of their health they are failing its citizens. Why the rant? Beginning January 1st I will have something I haven't had since I graduated Law School in 1992. And it's not because I didn't want it, not because I wasn't willing to pay a fair amount for it, not because I didn't think it was a necessary. It simply was unavailable to me. I will have a basic health insurance plan. I shouldn't have had to wait 18 years for it. And I am sorry some people are still waiting.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas day, Christmas week, and New Year. I can't say it enough but I am so thankful for all of you. Thinking about the impact on my life that started when I started this blog makes me as happy as I can be. Peace to All and all my Christmas Love to you, Jim
2 comments:
Wishing you an even greater 2011!!!!
As to your "rant" I so agree (which is easy when you are used to "free" healthcare). I so believe that a responsible government should provide basic necssities to it's citizens.
What I am curious about is why you were not able to get any health care before (at any cost). I thought as long as the "price was right" for the insurance companies insurance was available???
you're on medicare? I'm glad for you but agree it's messed up.
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