'Twas the night before Christmas,
And deep down inside,

I looked back at the year,
And thought, "man, what a ride!"

My plane back from Seoul
Was a year-ish 'fore now,

And all I can utter's
An emphatic "WOW!"

A year ago here,
I knew not what was nigh,

Like the Peacocks a-strutting
At Edsel Ford High.

And Patrick and Crista,
Who knows what they know,

Just guide them with caring,
And look at them go.

The things I have learned,
I can scarcely believe,

And as classes began,
I found more up my sleeve.

And then it was Cindy,
And Brenda I found,

Engineers and their families,
At least one's Oscar-bound.

And perils collide,
As so often they do,

I found dad not the same
As the man that I knew.

But care was not lacking,
The future's not plain,

Tho' the work it entails
Would make Job go insane.

My wish for you all,
As we send off the year,

Live with joy, and with hope,
And know life without fear!

I neglected to mention a lot of people, mostly because they wouldn't really work into the rhyme scheme. I wish all the best to my corporate ESL clients and their families, I know they're all far away from home, which can be an especially scary notion during the holidays. I hope that what they all discover about America bears mentioning to their friends when they do return, and that none of them found Detroit to be particularly scary. To my wonderful wife Martha, I've spent a lot of time getting to know her again, and working out how a pair of 6-footers sleep in the same bed; but the fact still remains, she gets me, she's proven that, and she's showed me most of all what she's made of--stout stuff, but not without soul. Many demands have been made, much has been answered, and wherever it leaves me, much has had to be re-prioritized. I wish for much; to be able to dance at my daughter's weddings someday, and to maybe, someday, cross paths with a student of mine again. I have loved being "Peter Teacher," or "Mr. Klobucar," to the ones who were really making the effort to get my name right, or just plain-old "Mr. K." I wish to have left a mark somewhere, although I know in my heart of hearts that some of them did indeed get what I was saying. I could wish for a world, especially here in Detroit, that emphasizes to these young minds that their future not only cannot, but should not be like that of their parents. In other words, as a teacher, I always hope for hope. And make the point about, as Jerry Garcia so eloquently sang, "what a long, strange trip it's been." Grace of God, it's not over yet, and there is much good and wonder to be known in days to come; more students who make the point to me that they "get it," no matter what "it" might be. I wish that I will be able to continue to learn and grow. And just be able to be more at peace with myself than I have ever been before, confident in my ability to take care of business, and build a bigger world, one mind at a time. Mine included.