July means New Year!

I do not recall the feeling of a true ending and beginning at my birthday as I do this year. Fiscal year end has always been an important milestone, a bit more so with the pandemic effect. It was quite the year. I am grateful for the amazing Denison families supporting our beloved college on the hill. I'm proud of my work requiring pivots, adaptability and the embrace of technology. None of it could have happened without the incredible partners and teammates at Denison. Joe deserves credit as well, being the in-house IT staffer. I'm proud of our ability to professionally co-exist in our lives on Newark-Granville Road. Yes, the birthday and personal new year deserved some celebration for 20-21's end and 21-22's beginning. It was a wonderful week of festivities, thank you to my hosts and coordinators! Swims, cakes, candles and ciders made it all special. The gifts, cards, texts, calls and social media posts were absolutely delightful! The return to traditions: spending the night with the Westerville Leithausers, traversing the lake and watching the fireworks with the Parsons memories like no other. Granville's 4th of July returned in all its glory: ferris wheel, the village on the horizon backlit by booms, a true hometown parade all while socializing together! Uniting with pals by the pool and on the golf course provided the extra touches to dub it a perfect long long weekend and birthday for the record books. 53 isn't overly special, until it is spent with my friends and family. Cheers to all that helped make it so, I'm grateful. And now the new year, a resolution for balance. My studies at IUPUI, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is teaching me everything is on a continuum. This feels a bit like my father's reminder from Oscar Wilde, everything in moderation, even moderation! I move forward into my new year grateful for time off, vacation time to use. I'm cleaning my closet and taking things from the attic to Sophie's Thrift Store, benefiting the Licking County Humane Society: