Best wishes to you and your family. I hope you enjoy your holiday break. My wish for you is that it is a good time and you enjoy your days away from work. Remember to return safely. Experts in this sort of thing emphasize that living a balanced life of work and play is essential to our overall well-being.

Regarding the play part... as you know, it is also called recreation. Ever think about where we get this term? It comes from the idea of re-creation. That’s right, when we play or do something different, we are, in a sense, re-creating ourselves. You may call this recharging one’s batteries and that is the same idea.

Taking a break and doing different things is nice — like spending a day reading a book or visiting with grandchildren or driving to Palo Duro Canyon and taking a hike. These are all good activities. You know what you like to do and I hope it works out for you. Even just sitting and thinking is good. This is the time of year when people of all backgrounds tend to look forward to the year ahead and backward to the year that is wrapping up.

As I look back over the events of the calendar year, I think of the many things, both good and bad, that occurred. I am thankful for all of the good things and maybe even the other not-so-good things, too, as they are often blessings in disguise.

In any case, during this year we are about to complete, we have met many of our business goals. We had the best fiscal year ever financially for the practice plan. On the human side, we have seen births and death in our Texas Tech family and amongst our loved ones. We have celebrated and we have mourned. We have seen some of our Texas Tech family leave for other jobs and we have welcomed new ones into our midst.

Of course, no one knows for certain what the next year holds. But we look forward to it… grateful for a fresh start and excited about what can be done. We have a new business plan and a strong commitment to achieve. Happy Holidays!