2018 is not only a new year, but for me personally, it already has been a year of new beginnings. Obviously I have just recently moved from the state of Texas to the state of Kentucky. I came from a city of 35,000 to a town of about 10,000 give or take. I’ve started a new job and gone from being the expert to being the student. I left a new home that I had built to one that was built in 1938. Lots of change.

But the greatest new beginning of 2018 has been the birth of my newest grandchild on February 7. What an incredible blessing. Hudson Robert Haldeman, named partially for my late husband, makes for my fourth grandchild. I know I’ve said it before, but grandchildren are most definitely more fun than raising my own children. I’m not the first to say this and I certainly will not be the last.

As you read this, I am sitting at my son and daughter-in-law’s home in Shreveport, Louisiana, holding this new bundle of joy and just enjoying family. During my visit here I’ve been able to spend some time with the new parents and my first born grandson who is now the big brother. My daughter and her two children also came into town. I am fortunate to spend time with my entire immediate family. Being altogether does not occur often enough. And even with this gathering, my son-in-law was missing.

There is no doubt that life can be hectic and stressful. But as I sit back and look at my children and look at the adults they have become along with the new lives they are raising up, I am quick to remember that family is what makes me smile and tugs at my heart strings.

For those who have experienced loss, we know too well that life is fleeting. We know that to live each day doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do matters. We know that those we surround ourselves with and those we cherish is what makes us go on. They give us purpose. They are what are most important.

Ah yes, new beginnings — what else does 2018 have in store for me? Stay tuned.