A Pre-Thanksgiving Thought

Thanksgiving arrives this week, a bit on the early side. There's nothing going on in markets or the economy that's broken the Zombie spell so many seem to under.

Talk of a Bull Market in stocks has taken over after talk of disaster only a few weeks prior.

Talk of the return of a bullish trend in bonds has taken over after a recognition that the collapse of bond prices this year has been the worst in...get this...the history of the U.S. At not other time, have bond price fallen so far and so fast.

Gold and Precious metals, including the mining shares, continue to jerk around those who want them and repel those who don't. 

With Thanksgiving approaching, maybe it's best to just relax, wind down our work days, and enjoy our time with family, friends, and...food. At least that's our plan.

This time of year finds us already both looking and planning ahead. We're hoping to get the basic building blocks of our business plan and professional endeavors in place by Thanksgiving. We're almost there. 

We started this practice a number of years ago. What goosed us into pursuing this rather early deadline for next year's plan was the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church, It begins a new year a week after Thanksgiving. For personal reasons, we just thought coordinating our work and personal life around the Liturgical calendar would serve us both spiritually and practically. 

And that's pretty much how it's worked out. 

Now, while we started this practice somewhere north of 5 years ago, it's been a work in progress. This year builds on the previous which built on the previous, and so on. As a result, this year, we should have just about every detail placed thoughtfully and lovingly in a box, tied up in a nice bow, ready to open after the Christmas-New Year's break.

For one thing, it's relieved us of the former anxiety and excitement that a New Year used to bring. Too much cramming and rushing. Indeed, even with a detailed plan done, there will be tasks that can only be done in real time during the first two weeks of January. So be it. But with all the other matters related to work and spiritual life in place, we can pursue those "real time" items in relative peace.

Relying on God in all endeavors is a good practice and this sort of we'll call it "early" planning reinforces that. Indeed, this year, will mark the 5th anniversary of the sickness (stroke/18 days in ICU) and death of our eldest child. We've written about this in the past and won't go on about it now. (There will be  mention of this in our Thanksgiving post coming up.) As you might imagine, spending what was essentially our entire Advent/Christmas Season either in the hospital to be with our son in a medically induced coma, and then planning his funeral and burial (along with his widow and child) has changed what was once a rather lighthearted time of year. We've struggled ever since not to drag down the joy of family and friends, but it's been a challenge. But, again, learning to accept that all that happened was according to God's Will, and relying on Him to get through this Season with a modicum of joy has left us looking forward to Christmas again - sort of.

Whatever your Thanksgiving and Christmas plans, we wish you the best!