Last letter of the year

Dear familia and this one is for everyone:

Today is my last Monday letter for this year since I don’t write while on vacation so I wanted to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!!!

We just had the semiannual Director's Seminar. Daniel likes to do them in May and November right after he has been receiving new training from the Presiding Bishopric. He likes to share with everyone anything that he has learned so it was good for everyone to get together for three days away from the routine to focus on the new goals for 2018 and to wrap up any unfinished business.

All the directors from all the departments came with their spouses so it was a good way to get to know everybody who has collaborated directly or indirectly to the cause. You might ask what is the cause?

I learned in the training that the Presiding Bishopric together with the DTA all over the world are in charge of helping the poor and the needy. One of the main causes for the Church to even exist and that is a huge undertaking but little by little, donation by donation people are able to improve their lives one at a time and we love to know we can be part of it.

At the director’s seminar last week, Daniel got sick; the poor thing  had pushed his body way too hard the last few weeks preparing for the Seminar and getting everything caught up before we go on our trip to the U.S.

You see, a normal day for him starts at 4:00 a.m. and at times he goes to work after midnight because he has meetings late at night where is daytime in Utah. As you all know Daniel is always on time sometimes way before anyone else is in. He has an incredible work ethic. He is a man of integrity and puts so much effort into everything he does. He revises everything countless of times to make sure there are no errors. He is an optimist and sees the best in people so he delegates but checks to make sure everything is done correctly.

Last Friday he received a call from our dear neighbor Elder Bowen because water was licking in his apartment so Daniel got up and went to check it out. Anyone else would have called the Physical facilities guy but not Daniel. He is hands on even when he was feeling so ill. On Saturday, the only day when our alarms don’t ring, we get a call from the people working on Elder Bowens apartment around 7:30 a.m. so we both with almost no sleep at all continue our day and that is a recipe for getting sick but you wouldn’t even know it if you saw Daniel’s face. He has a happy attitude and always smiles and never complains. He is so dedicated to his work and ALWAYS goes the extra mile.

But as invincible as I thought I was I knew when I went to bed after we got back on Wednesday that I was in trouble. I woke up sick as a dog with fever running high and a bad cough. I feel like a caged animal when I am sick in bed and all I can do is think of everything I should be getting done but can’t. Being sick is something I don’t have time for.

 I was feeling sorry for myself when a friend send me this message saying: “Being sick is your body’s way of saying you’re awesome and you need to slow down so everyone else can catch up.” I love people who find a way to make us laugh when we are feeling down.

We are hoping for good health before we make our 30- hour journey back to Utah next Saturday but before we go, this are some things we must do so I am sharing in case you need a reminder too. Even at times when we feel under the weather we must continue doing the best we can with the energy we got. This thought came to mind:

“You have one month to finish the book of 2017. Make the last chapter a perfect one.” 

 I can’t believe we have less than one month left of this year! It is incredible how fast time can pass when you aren’t looking.  That’s why I had to make sure and point out to everyone that we are literally down to our last chapter in this year and then the year will be over, which means our chance to make sure that our last chapter ends perfect is NOW!

We have just under four weeks to do everything in our power to have this year end exactly how we want it to. So how will we spend those weeks?

I would suggest thinking through both practical matters you should probably do before the end of the year as well as the heartfelt matters you may want to consider.

A few practical things you may want to do before the year ends:

*Make sure you get any dental or doctor visits you need before the year ends and your deductible begins again.

*If you haven’t gotten your free annual credit report request it before the year ends.

*Make any charitable donations you plan to before the end of December so you can claim them on your 2017 tax returns. You also may want to make a trip to the Goodwill or Deseret Industries to donate old clothing or other items to help people in need while helping yourself save on your tax return…it’s a win/win!

*Gather your financial documents for the year so you can be ready to go when tax time hits you.

A few heartfelt matters we may want to think about before the year ends:

*Are there goals we want to complete? 

*Are there relationships we want to repair?

*Are there acts of service we want to complete?

*Are there mistakes we want to fix?

*Are there relatives, friends or loved ones we need to visit?

*Are there projects we want to wrap up?

These next four weeks are going to fly by in the blink of an eye. With all the holiday shopping and Christmas parties, and the gift wrapping to be done, and the decorating to do, and the cookies to bake…well this month is going to fly by before we even realize it’s gone. 

So let’s get out in front of it NOW. Let’s get check lists made of the things we don’t want to forget to make time for because once it’s over it’s over…no going back…let’s make our last chapter of 2017 everything we dreamed it would be!

In our attempt to do some of these things, we are going to Orlando and while I am there visiting my mom, Daniel will fly to Miami to visit Ale, Lexi and the kiddos. We will also fly back to back to attend Charlotte's baptism and that process took a lot of negotiating to ask permission to be away from the area but we will worry about next year when it comes.

Feliz Navidad!

Con amor,

Vero