Merry Christmas everyone. School is out, teachers are breathing a sigh of relief and the kids are shouting for joy. This calendar year is almost over and there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks to the herculean efforts of the Trump government, we now have a vaccine that has the potential to return our country to normality.
Hopefully 2021 will be a calmer and healthier year. I don’t know what 2021 holds, but it surely can’t be as crazy as 2020.
Russ and I are headed to Fredericksburg to spend the day with our grown children at the Jellystone RV park. It will be good to get “out of Dodge” for a day or so. It will be an unusual Christmas, but it goes with this unusual year. I hope some day we can have a big family holiday instead of one group here and another there.
We are much better off here in Texas, at least we can get out and eat at restaurants and go shopping. No one has told us to stay home from church. We owe a big thank you to our elected officials here in Texas.
My prayer for 2021 is that our kids can stay in school and try to recoup all the months of schooling they have missed. I anticipate trying to play catch up for at least another year. I presume that teachers who love their students feel as we do here in Richland that our kid’s education is more important than anything else going on in the world. I want my kids face to face so that I can see and feel their confusion over a subject area, before they get frustrated and give up. They are the future, and their future must be protected.
The state football game has been tentatively scheduled for January 5th in San Angelo. That is not set in stone yet, so please be patient. It’s going to be hard for both coaches to have their players game-ready with this long delay. I guess we will all know on January 5th.
Our wonderful pastor, Mack Elkin, is back in town. He has been away at boot camp. If you see him around, give him a handshake. I bet he will regale you with tales of how painful it is for a 40-plus pastor to go through Army bootcamp. He probably has as many aches and pains as he has years. As a congregation, we are excited to have this talented and a caring preacher back with us. His beautiful family is ecstatic that he is home for hugs and Christmas fun.
I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas. My next column will be written from outside of Richland Springs. Have a great week everyone.
Please send up extra prayers for all the people who are missing loved ones. Congratulate those families who will have their soldiers home for Christmas, like the Lusty family and the Elkin family. Spread a little cheer if you can, and stay safe. God bless America, and God bless our precious troops, police officers and everyday workers that keep us going. Most of all pray for our precious troops and their families. Merry Christmas, everyone.