Hello there bloggers and readers of blogs! 🙂

Like I mentioned in an earlier blog, I’ve written this post a number of time. Each time I wrote it, it just seems trite and insignificant. The word meant little to me and if this word is to have an impact, the meaning has to be there. However, a friend of mine, a friend whom I’ve met only through our writing, gave me a word that finally did just that, made an impact.

#perseverance

From Dictionary.com:

Perseverance: a steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

From Merriam-Webster:

Perseverance: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering : steadfastness 
So, my word for 2018 is perseverance. I will persevere as I change assignments, yet again. Our district is in a constant state of flux right now and I’m the guy moving from 8th grade reading language arts to 6th grade social studies. I will learn, yet again, another curriculum, set of standards, and I will persevere with my new team.
I will persevere with daughters who constantly squawk, bicker, fight, and just simply don’t get along. One daughter is quiet, one brassy. One tall and blonde, one short and brunette. One is a library rat, the other a social media diva. I will persevere through their tomfoolery to help them see they need each other more than they care to admit.
I will persevere through my health issues. Right now, as I write this, I’m sitting in my recliner with an ice pack on my knee. I was wiped out during basketball practice in late November and my knee hasn’t felt good since. It swelled up early on, but has been feeling good until yesterday and today. Tomorrow morning, I have practice, and with seven girls, it’s hard not to jump and play. I will persevere with the fact that I’m getting older, and may not be able to continue this way.
I will persevere through the political nonsense that’s engulfed our country. I’m not hopeful for our great state of Iowa, nor our country as both are traveling paths that will not lead to good things. So, I can only lend my support to those in need, help others to see the correct path, and if not, I will help those who can get us there.
Through perseverance, hard work, and a little bit of luck, things will move forward.