Mustering Appreciation

At church on Sunday the topic of appreciation came up. The pastor noted that many times people turn to prayer or focus their daily prayers on asking for help while oftentimes forgetting to express appreciation for the things that are going right or for those people who bolster them.

Guilty.

Let’s face it: when I’m looking down the barrel of uncertainty and am unsure of what to do, my overwhelming response is to a) dwell on the problem and b) pray for a way out. Understandably (to me), appreciation for what I’ve already been given drifts out of my mind.

While this confession is not earth-shattering (or uncommon) it does make me step back and reflect on those people and things that I appreciate. Not surprising, the basic gifts of life are things that I am so grateful for: my health, my spouse, my family, my home.

My health. I’m 56 years old. My dad died at 52, my sister died at 52 and my mother died at 63. I’m definitely ahead of the game.

My spouse. Don’t tell him, but marrying Steve Goldsworthy was probably the single smartest thing I’ve ever done. Though he’s not a hand-patting partner who promises that “everything’s going to be okay,” he has kept me grounded and helped me reach heights in my life that I never thought possible.

My family. When I was single, I wanted to get married and have two children two years apart. Instead, I was entrusted with four sons over the course of 11 years. Talk about the mother lode! And the family I married into – especially my mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law – have been caring people who embraced me from day one.

My home. Funny that growing up “over the hill” in Sun Valley that I never knew that the Crescenta Valley even existed. Now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

I have made decisions throughout my life that to this day I still question. For example, owning my own business.

From 1982 through 1990, Steve and I owned our own business. The day we sold it I swore that I would never own my own business again. We were the last to get paid, carried the burdens on our shoulders of making sure the job got done properly and had to come up with all the answers.I thought those days were well behind me.

In 2009, opportunity knocked on my door when the paper I worked for that had been bought by the Los Angeles Times was closed. I believed that this community – my community ¬– deserved its own newspaper. Steve agreed and in September 2009 we launched the Crescenta Valley Weekly.

From the beginning the paper was welcomed by the community – something I am so grateful for. Imagine working so hard on something then finding out that no one really cares about it. Not the case with the CV Weekly. From day one, letters of support came in as did money for subscriptions – $1 a week. It may not seem like a lot, but when added up that money quickly became a revenue stream that I relied upon.

The team that puts this paper together weekly are names that many are familiar with: writers Mary O’Keefe and Charly Shelton have been with me since the beginning when we started at her kitchen table. The photos of Leonard Coutin are familiar to anyone who has read the paper regularly. Brandon Hensley came to the CV Weekly in January 2010, not long after we opened our doors, and has gained a following as a sports writer.

“Weather girl” Sue Kilpatrick and columnist Mike Lawler are also familiar names. They have lived in the Crescenta Valley their entire lives and can offer a perspective that reminds people of how the valley used to be.

Proofreader and fact checker Anne McNeill dedicates her time every week to catch those errors that in our enthusiasm we writers might miss.

Rev. Bev Craig oversees the popular Spiritually Speaking in our religion section.

Our ad reps Sonya Marquez and Lisa Stanners, designers Steve Hernandez and Matt Barger and office manager Emily Cronkhite make sure that we have a product to put out every week and that it looks good.

And of course our readers who make sure that the CV Weekly is part of their regular routine and our advertisers who entrust us with promoting their business.

Though I may not always take time to say it, I appreciate you all.

  robin goldsworthy