We said goodbye to a lot of things this year.

In January, we said goodbye to dollars when our health insurance increased 50%.
Our farewell in February was to our furnace.
March came in like a lion when I had emergency gall bladder surgery.
We bid adieu to our central air in April.
May was not mild as we watched our washer die.
Fireworks came early when a lighting strike killed our computer in June.

I thought we finished saying goodbye as the second half of the year passed uneventfully. But we were just getting ready for the hardest goodbye of all when my father-in-law died. You can prepare for some goodbyes with an emergency fund, but death always comes unexpectedly and too soon.

It reminded me of what is truly important – family. You can’t pick your family, and we may drive each other nuts, but during the hard times, that is who we lean on.

I also don’t know what we would have done without our friends and our church. The meals they brought over were wonderful and filling. Who can resist lasagna?

So, for 2017 I am going to try harder to spend more time with family and friends. (But first, I’m going to give myself time to grieve.) A wise man told me, “People are more important than things!”