WASHINGTON WATCH: FINALIZING LIST OF NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Is my mind playing tricks with me or do the pages of the calendar turn quicker the older I become? Like a cassette tape fast forwarded from the beginning, gaining momentum as it looms from one spool to the other?

Or is it that I just become more conscious of all the choices made and unmade? Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I dreamt about running on a beach with sand between my toes?

Maybe it is because I have come to care in new ways about other people and things. "We'll always have Paris" might be nice if you're Humphrey Bogart, but it's not the same as being there. Happiness is no longer simply about self, but about loving, holding and cherishing.

Quickly the pages turn until soon it is time to put a new calendar upon the wall.

This year mine will be filled with pictures of wolves, an affection that dawned when I began living with an Alaskan malamute that bears an uncanny resemblance to her fiercer first cousin. Her name is Taeva, and she celebrated her first birthday last week. In the past year I have watched her grow from a tiny commotion of fur with large ears and oversized paws to a prancing princess weighing over 75 pounds.

I find myself looking at her like my brothers and sisters look at their children. It is an awesome responsibility.

The pages turn, little ones become large, the world begins anew.

* * * * *

On Christmas eve I heard a radio interview with a World War II veteran who recently published a book about the war. His voice was gruff but firm, and he answered the interviewer's questions without nonsense or polish. His motivation for writing, he explained, was that soon there would be no more witnesses to what happened.

"We are disappearing," he said.

He is right. The greatest generation of Americans, the ones who sacrificed and believed and built so that this nation became the world's champion will not always be with us. Sometimes I look at those who are our leaders today and wonder how great those who lived before must have been.

Today is my grandmother's birthday and about her I do not have to wonder. She is a leader I have known and cherished my whole life. I have witnessed her determination, her kindness, her laughter, her wit. And from her I have tried to learn.

At our family's annual Christmas eve party this year Eva Rust did not sit as straight as she once did, but her grip was warm and strong and her laugh still as bright. When I held her hand and looked upon the great grandchildren, the grandchildren and the children, pride blossomed within my heart. To be part of this creation is an honor, indeed.

* * * * *

The new calendar awaits and with it the reminder that this is the time for resolutions. I will finalize my list today or tomorrow, ever hopeful, ever ambitious.

Always seek the truth.

Be kind.

Be courageous.

See the beauty.

Learn from all.

Trust in God.

It is but the beginning. The specific items come later.

Good luck to you on your own resolutions!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

Jon K. Rust is a Washington-based columnist for the Southeast Missourian.