Every year I get very reflective around Christmas time. This year has seemed especially busy, its felt non-stop since March. I’ve been longing to take my foot off the accelerator and just slow WAY down for a couple weeks to enjoy my wife and kids, family, friends, quiet, a few good books…
One evening many years ago, I was trout fishing a small lake up in Canada, a few weeks after ice-out. I was miles from anything, and the water was cold. It was an amazingly still and beautiful night, sunset, loons were calling, fish were jumping, my faithful springer spaniel, Kelsey, was with me. It was perfect. But the boat sank, and I nearly drown. This is the short version, but when I crawled onto the shore, alone in the dark, with one sock, underwear, and a t-shirt on, guess what? I didn’t care AT ALL about the $1,000+ of fishing tackle I had just lost, the clothes, my wallet… all that mattered were the visions and memories that were literally exploding in my head of the people in my life, and I was also very aware of my breathing. It was crystal clear to me, ‘This is all that matters, these eternal things…’ Those eternal relationships, PEOPLE, ‘others’, and the gift of life, not ‘stuff’…
Why do I share this story? Well, Christmas is, among other things, a time of giving and receiving gifts. In reflecting on all the good gifts and people in my life, I simply want to say ‘Thank You’. You’re the people who allow me to make a living for my family, to create jobs for 8-10 other hard working folks, to create beautiful landscapes in your yards. My crew and I ‘get to’ be a part of creating and/or maintaining your landscapes. 95 degree weather or 12 hour days aside, this is a gift! You trust us enough to allow is into your homes, your yards, your lives, your ‘e-mail In Box’ with this newsletter. THANK YOU! 2010 was a great year for True North, and it’s all possible thanks to you, our friends and clients.
Please accept my heartfelt ‘THANK YOU’ for everything. May hope, peace, joy, and all good things be yours. From all of us at True North… MERRY CHRISTMAS!