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Opinion: Humility, communication and patience — room for growth in 2024

Appreciating life's little joys can strengthen our connections with family, friends and community.
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Group hug.

Incredible how another year has just disappeared.

For myself, especially as a new parent, I've come to realize that time is irrelevant.... but in a good way. 

Earlier this month, I met up with a very good friend I had not seen in four months — in person. Yup, that's right. I'm not always tied to a laptop.

And yes, that's also quite some time to not be in the same space with someone you genuinely care about.

Life gets in the way. The schedules don't line up, you may move up in a career, or there may even be a death in the family.

Stuff happens. But I believe what makes a friendship strong is communication and patience — traits we can safely say are the hardest to uphold in this day and age. 

Trust me, if this is what you're going through now with a friend or family member, you know that once the opportunity presents itself, it'll be worth the wait when you finally see each other again.

Embrace them, listen to them and celebrate them! You'll gain a greater respect for each other's life journeys, making the reunion all the more exciting. 

That's part of my 2024 resolution: appreciating the little joys of every day life.

That gives me more hope for the new year, and I certainly encourage everyone to take time to reflect on the positive moments of the past year.

And you know what, you may not have a New Year's resolution, or you'll be like most of us and fail after a couple of weeks.

In my opinion, setting personal goals, as well as making time for yourself, can only make the journey more exciting and humbling. 

Happy New Year!

- Kyle Balzer, editor