I used to teach Photoshop classes to a group of enthusiastic 5-8th
graders when my son was in middle school.    One of the special things
about his school was the rich variety of cultures the students came
from.  My students liked to animate things and during the holidays,
we shared a discussion of holiday traditions, looking for common
themes to figure out an animation project we could work on.

One of the ones we found was the fact that candles, lanterns and
lights played a part in all of our celebrations.    It made us stop
and think about how that helped us all get through the dark and cold
days of our winter.   How nice it was at that time of year to focus on
what might be possible rather than retreat into hibernation.   For all
of us,  lights in our celebrations represented hope for the future.

As investors,  we are driven to do what we do by hopes of what might
be possible.  We keep going on a quest for positive returns along a
path that is not a straight and direct one.  Progress is made in fits
and spurts.  Hope is what keeps us going when the path is uncertain.
It is only in retrospect that we can see straight lines that correlate
to data points.  We appreciate friends and community to keep us going
when things get tough and to celebrate with us when things go well.

The holidays are about hope for the future.    Each year,  we enjoy
our personal type of celebration along with all the moments of stress,
excitement, joy, wonder, happiness and sometimes even sadness that
come with it.  Looking back over the years, the details blur and what
remains is richness and color that has been added to our memories.

Thank you for being part of our community and part of our thoughts
during our celebrations.

We wish you all a joyous holiday season of lights,  full of the
creation of lasting memories and the thoughts of good things to come.

--
Laurie Frederiksen
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