A New Beginning: Personal Reflection of the Future

The past is behind us and it's time to plan and scheme our way into becoming what we were not in 2013. Today we'll start the year catching up with family and wishing them a New Year...telling them how blessed we are in having them in our lives. Some we'll see in person and others through phone and some through Facetime or Google Hangouts. These conversations begin our promise to have them in our lives for another year. And to those that we can only reach through prayer, we promise to tell them that their memories are cherished and will continue to live and thrive in our hearts and minds.

The memories created in 2014 are our doing through out dreams and our actions. They will be remembered on December 2014 as the products of our hopes and dreams. We and those around us will make them in a sense either good or bad by the circumstances in which they occur. Either good or bad, we learn and cherish the fact that were are human beings that can't control the results...only our actions. Each of us has a desire to nurture public, professional, personal, and family relationships, but we can't control how others want to see results. The best that we can hope for is that we've done our part to make the world a better place for everyone in our lives.

In a few hours I'll be making what I hope to be a big change in my life. I'll enter the hospital to stop the pain that I've been living with for many years. Many of you didn't even know that I've been suffering from a constant pain in my hip. Some may have noticed a limp after a long day of teaching or a wince when getting up from my chair. My family knows the pain and it is partly because of their insistence and wishes that I'm having a total hip replacement tomorrow. Unfortunately, the immediate result is partial immobility. That's going to be the tough part. I'm going to miss going outside and checking the feeders, taking pictures of wildlife, downloading my game camera pictures, practicing my fly casting, and playing catch with Zephyr on a daily basis. I'll give all of these activities for a while knowing that in the future I'll be able to wade fish, kayak, pole a skiff from the poling platform, take long hikes and bike, and climb trees (OK maybe not) after I heal.

This will be the beginning of more adventure. I can't say that the quality of my life has suffered with my condition. Every class I've taught, I've taught with passion and with the hope of passing on that passion to others who in turn may make a change in the lives of teachers who in turn will pass it on to children. Whether it was science or the enjoyment of the outdoors, I will return to my work with renewed and intense sense of enthusiasm.

My communication during my invalidism will be through e-mail, social media, and video conferencing (Facetime/Hangouts). Classes this semester will begin online and through the help of guest lecturers and friends. This blog (http://jsciedi.blogspot.com/) will chronicle my recovery and serve as my connection to the world.

Best wishes for a Happy, Prosperous, and Healthy New Year to everyone. Enjoy your year and every minute that you are given with family and friends.