
Publisher's Notes
Time Flies
Happy holidays, everyone! Here we are, at year’s end…again! I don’t know about you, but 2023 was great, and has gone by in the blink of an eye. When I reflect on the highs and the lows, I realize that 2023 was better than 2022, better than 2021, and definitely better than 2020! Sometimes it seems like a blur. Grandkids are growing up! Savannah is 18 years old, headed off to college. McKenna turned 12 and headed to middle school. Where does the time go?
I’ve had the pleasure over the last several months to meet—and hold—some brand-new babies. I sometimes wonder what makes the little ones decide to come forth! When I talk to new parents, I stress to them how fast their babies will grow up. I tell them to take lots of pictures…and videos.
It is so much easier now, with smartphones. Back in my early parenting days, it was tough to grab a camera in time to get their first steps, their first words, all the milestones in their lives. No more! The young parents tell me that they are taking this advice to heart.
Manny is hard at work, beginning to organize all of my pictures from years gone by. He is very technologically savvy, and he wants to make sure that we have my family photos, and his, readily available. Last night, he was describing his plans to organize it all. I shared that I have always said my photos were going to be my project “when I retire.” He laughed and said he knows. He can tell by the chaos that he’s working through in my picture bins!
It is wonderful to be married to a man who has an entirely different set of skills and abilities than I do. In case you haven’t guessed it, he’s the organized one. It’s pretty cool…as he tells me, he’s working on making our lives easier. And he is! The kitchen and home office are my favorite parts of our home. I can find things so easily!
Manny is also a true Christmas fan, so he’s the one who makes sure we have a very merry Christmas. I think part of his love of the holidays comes from the fact that he wasn’t always home for the holidays when he was in the Navy. Twenty years, three ships, fourteen times around the world. Now, Manny tells me that this is home. Makes me smile!
Hope you all have a great holiday!

Janet Van deWalle,
Founder/
National Publisher
Positive Thought of the Month
“People always talk about how time flies; it’s become sort of a colloquialism now. You don’t really understand it until you reach your late 30s and early 40s—and I’m sure time will move even faster as I get older.” — Ben Gibbard