Be safe, be kind, be here in the new year

Here’s to all of the public safety first responders, dispatchers, retail clerks, hospitality workers, delivery people, medical care providers and everyone who will be on duty through New Year's weekend and have spent the last week dealing with shoppers, revelers and the public in general. Take a bow, you’re the unsung heroes of the holidays.

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Such is life that times of sadness are buffered by joyful occasions and reasons to gather with family. 2023 was all of that for ours. The abrupt loss of my little brother in January was hard. The late summer wedding of our oldest grandson was truly a celebration. Two months later the matriarch of our family, my mother, passed quietly and peacefully into the arms of Jesus.

Throughout it all there have been many moments of gratitude ... for family, friends and community. As Harry Bailey toasted in It’s a Wonderful Life, “To my brother, George, the richest man in town!” I, too, feel rich in every way that matters.

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On New Year’s Day, I will continue my tradition of not jumping in the lake. The temperature of Lake Coeur d’Alene is just a few degrees above the water turning to ice. The air temperature will be right at freezing. So while I won’t be plunging, dipping, splashing or frolicking in the icy waters I applaud the insanity of those of you who seem to enjoy it.

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So many well-intentioned resolutions are made as a new year dawns. I realized it’s really quite simple to make a big change, two words to be precise.

You know that thing you need to do, that’s been weighing you down, nagging you, calling to you but you keep ignoring it ... putting it off.

Do that.

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Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

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Happy Main Street birthdays today to Marc Stewart, Linda Shaver, Jayson Cornwell, Ann Burg, Sandy Coleman, Larry Ruff, Butch Peacock, Doreen Irving, Ron Branson and Sally Hart. Tomorrow, Sarah Kindler, Chris Holloway, Tim Heidecker, Sharon Cooper, Annie McCloskey and Lynda Thurman light the candles on their cakes. On Friday, Jaime Johnson, Molly Shaw, Tammy Engen, Debbie Trimble, Kathy Baker-Grigg, Toni Capaul, Sheila Wayman, Connie Haggerty, John Martin, Rachel Pen and Jamie Rowen celebrate birthdays. Blowing out the candles Saturday are Paul Gorringe, Glenn Jacklin, Gayle Jacklin Stegmann, Marsha Dornquast, Nona Rambo, Bryce Raynor (20!), Ilene Moss, Kalia Baltzell, Diane Ahlers and Dave Dutro. New Year’s Eve birthdays belong to Cheryl Freeman, Shaun Leary, Sarah Chase, George Holcomb, Sandy Thompson and Crystal Dean. Happy New Year’s Day birthdays to Ron Jacobson, Ron Mills, Theresa Wild, Billy Newman (21!), Jan Leaf, Kathy Edinger Dingman, Linda Jordan, Kevin Johnson, Steve Schiller (50!), Johanna Johnson, Jessica Hammond, David Attridge, Dianna Owens, Holly Childers, Katrina Boyer, Declan Jones, Cheryl Shepherd, sisters Shaun Williams and Shana Crimp, all celebrating the first Main Street birthdays of 2024. Bob McIlvenna, Cindy Warren, Nicole Barnes, Jerry Roth and Dion Unruh blow out the candles Tuesday.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.