The Mystery of a New Year

You would be foolish to deny the magic a new year can bring. It’s just a date on the calendar, right? Just another day in a long succession of days, isn’t it? No. You know it isn’t just another day. You know that encompassed within that day are hopes, dreams and countless possibilities. Even the most cynical among us feels that pang of anticipation in our stomach. 

Hot damn! That was a paragraph, huh? That isn’t my writing style for this section anymore. I keep it loosey goosey in the Editor’s Notes. I just wanted to be sure I could still do it. Over the years, this column has become more of a conversation between you and I and less of a formal affair. 

I prefer it. I know I can write something noteworthy in a serious style, but that doesn’t lend itself to authenticity. I write this section to you as if we were having conversation in my office. Mainly because I never leave this desk and it’s nice to have someone to talk to at least once a month about the ups and downs of this thing. It’s a weird gig I chose. Happy to do it. Happy to have a place to vent. Makes for a happier home.  Neither my stepdad, nor my foster dad ever spoke of their work at home. One a police officer, the other a head of a maintenance department at a large factory. I can’t recall an instance when they spoke of their work. Made for a more carefree upbringing for me. 

That’s why you get to read an unfiltered, conversational style of writing. That and it’s more fun to write like you talk. Everything I write, eloquent or not, is genuine. The conversational style makes that more evident to the reader, in my opinion.

Not totally sure why I felt the need to share that with all of you. Maybe just needed to get it out of my head. 

All that being said, I am kind of excited for the new year. 

I’ve got big plans! Big plans, I say! 

I’ve finally taken some time to get my health issues in order, and I’m starting to see results. My energy level is slowly increasing along with my mood. The steps I’m taking seem to having a positive effect, so I’ll keep at it. With the rebirth of my health comes an opportunity to do some great things in the magazine. 

I’ve got some pretty impressive interviews on the horizon. I’ll be sitting down with Jamole Callahan who was an integral part of the housing vouchers for aging out foster youth that came to pass in the Fall of last year. In addition to that will be an interview with former foster youth and Comedian on the rise, Monroe Martin. You may have seen him on Last Comic Standing or on a number of podcasts, tv shows or popping up in some movies. 

That’s just the start of the things you will get to see in the magazine this year. 

The new year brings with it new obstacles for the world of foster care, new issues that need addressed, new bills being passed. Foster Focus will be on top of it all. Giving you a different perspective on the issues, the perspective of those who are dealing with them on the frontline. I’ll continue to speak to the purpose of the magazine; an unbiased look at foster care. All voices heard. All sides accountable. All interests met. Transparency will be key as we plow through this new decade. 

I guess the mystery of a new year is what it will bring with it. What new thing will occupy our time or consume our thoughts? What new innovation will finally appear to solve a once thought unsolvable problem? Will we slip or regress? Will all the progress we made be for not? Or is this the year everything starts to make sense? The year we find out if the steps that have been taken are having an impact? It’s the mystery of it all that we find so intriguing. 

The difference in our curiosity in the world of foster care as opposed to the rest of the world’s curiosity is the reality that, real people, real kids are impacted by what’s to come. Real life consequences. Real life success stories. 

I’m going to do my best to cover it all.