Tag: New Year

As many of you know, I am passionate about gardening; probably a little OCD in that regard. I love gardening because it is cyclic, dynamic and ever-changing. Each season brings something new and delightful. I just spent several days pruning our 12 fruit trees. Each tree is like a sculpture to me, needing to be shaped and formed in order to create a new crop of delicious fruit. And, each one will be different from what it was the year prior. Each tree will have a “New Year” unique to itself. All of nature is this way–our lives are this way!

Let me be blunt, the Family Care Network needs you! We call ourselves “Family Care Network” because that is what, and who we are--a Network of all kinds of people, agencies and organizations working together to improve the lives of children, youth and families in a variety of ways. The bottom line: we offer an opportunity for everyone to contribute to improving the quality of life on our Central Coast.

Saying goodbye to 2017 and welcoming 2018 is just another reminder that life is a continuous journey. The Family Care Network celebrated its 30-year journey in 2017. We took the opportunity to look back on our past, giving cause for great celebration of our trials and triumphs. However, I don’t think it’s healthy to dwell too much on the past--we need to continue to create our future.

Without a doubt, one of my favorite authors is J.R.R. Tolkien and I love this quote from The Lord of the Rings, “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands hope is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater!”  What an apt description for these times in which we live – “the world is indeed full of peril.” Seriously, when you think matters cannot get worse – they do.

The New Year, 2017, has arrived with much trepidation. We have a new President taking office who is loathed, feared, or both, by many in our very polarized country. California is launching a new foster care “reform” wrought with flaws; so underfunded and ill thought out that it will take a miracle to produce any real reform. The majority of Americans are suffering from wage stagnation, with no indications from the corporate, business or public sectors of any relief or interest in fixing the problem. Our government has become an oligarchy, ruled by a few ultra-wealthy who have bought off our politicians. “Affordable Housing” has become an oxymoron, being unavailable and unachievable in most communities. America’s “safety net” is on the chopping block, including Socials Security, Medicare, healthcare and education. Congress doesn’t believe in global warming and wants to gut all of the controls to protect our air, water and environment. Nuclear proliferation is being proposed and long-term strategic alliances designed to keep the world safer, are in peril!