This is Deputy Digby Pancake. It’s true that I have a special way of looking at the bright side of life. Because there always is a bright side.

It’s as simple as that. There’s a bright side in the darkness too. Even when I was sick last week. I knew it would be a lesson for the persons maybe to slow down more. To not let me eat old crabs. All that.

But when the sun set on another day this week, the persons said it also set on another year.

Many people seemed happy to lose that day and say goodbye to the year. They were really happy about it.

They thought about all the things that went wrong. They talked about how this year was going to be different. And I wondered. Was this something they did each year on their calendar? Did they think that it was ok to be negative about time passed? Time never to get back? Don’t they know how precious time is?

When the sun goes down, it’s a beautiful time. Just ask Brickle how beautiful he looks then.

When the sun goes down, it doesn’t mean the day is over though. It means dinner. And maybe some fun watching that TV thing. Or just sitting on the couch. It’s a time to reflect. And think about what you’re going to do the next day. But you don’t wish for the night to be over. If you did that every night or every year, think about how much time you would have wasted. What if you missed something amazing by wishing for that time to go away?

A day and a year being over though is always an accomplishment. Think about all the things you did. Not what you didn’t do.

What can you congratulate yourself for? Be proud of it and take that feeling into a new day and a new year. I congratulate myself for beating the odds and feeling better when I got sick in May. I pat myself on the back that I learned to steal the front seat from Brickle.

But most of all, I don’t think about the bad parts of last year. Time moves on whether we are sad or happy. Believe that you did great things last year. Believe that the lessons you learned will make this year better. But carry that and believe that every day. Every hour. Every minute.

We’ve had some problems the last few days that Brickle will tell you about tomorrow. Because today is here and I don’t want to waste it on problems. We are good now in this moment.

And when the sun goes down tonight, I’ll think of you under the same sun…and hope you see what was good about today and about you, the year before and the year ahead.

–Deputy Digby Pancake

Last day to order your tote bag!