4 minute read
Dear Gabby
Welcome back to the Dear Gabby advice column. Happy New Year!! I heard about a new movie coming out soon. It’s a mystery called “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” It’s going to be a bust, though. We all know what we all did last summer. Nothing! My first New Year’s resolution is to stop procrastinating. I’ll write down the rest of them tomorrow…or maybe the next day. This year, I can honestly say I am very thankful hindsight truly is 2020! Drop me a line at Dear Gabby at PostcardsLive. com/share but only if you really want to know my opinion.
DEAR GABBY
My son-in-law is so ungrateful! I bought him a shirt for Christmas; he sent a thank you note, but he has not even worn the shirt over here for me to see it. Shouldn’t he do that to let me know how much he likes it? He’s now on my naughty list.
DEAR M-I-L
M-I-L
No one should be expected to display or use a gift according to the wishes or expectations of the giver. Once you give a gift, it belongs to the recipient, and you are not entitled to dictate what happens after that point. The fact that you received a thank you note from him should let you know he is grateful and thoughtful. If he chooses to wear the shirt when he washes his car, or uses it to wash his car, is no concern of yours. Your S-I-L is on my nice list. I’m still impressed that he sent you a thank you note!
GABBY
DEAR GABBY
Why do people make such a big deal out of New Year’s Resolutions? They’re just a to-do list for the first week in January.
REALIST
DEAR REAL
No kidding! Unfortunately, New Year’s Eve is a time when many people make pour decisions! GABBY
CONFIDENTIAL TO STILL UNEMPLOYED:
Thanks for sharing your resume. I think I have a clue as to why you didn’t get the job. For starters, it’s b-e-f-o-r-e, not B4. Adults speak English, not Bingo.
Partners
Submitted by: Brian B Smith, CFP® , Bryan M Masten, CFP® & Riley W. Smith
What a Way to Start A New Decade
In late 2019 we often heard people compare the upcoming decade to the roaring twenties of the last century. There was a lot of optimism that we were headed into a decade of positive economic activity and growth. The reality of 2020 did not take long to set in, and to call this year a dumpster fire would probably be an understatement. While this has been a challenging year for many of us, let us take some time to find the positive things that have happened in 2020.
1. Families have spent more time together – While it may be difficult to balance work, with home chores, and homeschooling the kids, it would be hard to argue that it is a negative to spend more time together as a family. It may be as simple as having more time at home due to working from home but being more involved with our kids positively impacts everyone. In addition, many parents have newfound respect for teachers.
2. Neighbors have taken care of each other – While you will not see it in the news headlines, neighbors have gone out of their way to help each other. It became obvious early on that certain portions of the population where at higher risk with the virus. To help mitigate that risk neighbors have aided with everything from grocery shopping, to a friendly check-in on higher risk individuals. It is further evidence that we all have more in common than differences.
3. Consumers have focused on small businesses – While the big retail and restaurant chains are important, small businesses are really the fabric of this country. Small businesses provide an enormous amount of employment and support our communities in so many ways. When restrictions on how they could do business where enacted, their communities responded to support them. Whether it was simply ordering food for curbside pick-up, or ordering goods to be delivered from your favorite local shops, we all came together to keep our community small businesses in business.
I am sure that we could all come up with many more positive outcomes from the past year. It is imperative that we look for the good. One of the things that makes this country great is the ability to adapt. We have always overcome adversity, but sometimes we forget how difficult past situations have been. Let’s all hope for a better 2021 and take some time to reflect on the positive in our lives as opposed to the difficulties we have undoubtedly faced.
