Each November since 1961, the Wall Street Journal has published “And the Fair Land,” an editorial that reminds us of America’s enduring experiment in self-governance. Because of the noise of our perpetual news cycle, it’s easy to forget how remarkable our 249-year democratic journey remains. We are still the people who chose self-governance, debate, freedom. Whatever our discord, that choice continues to define us. Happy Thanksgiving! Please pass the cranberry sauce.

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“This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way nothing can measure to those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for, far exceeds what it has grasped.

We can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, and schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.”

This WSJ editorial, And the Fair Land, has appeared annually since 1961.

If I had to characterize 2025, I’d call it a year of optimism in uncertainty. 

Right out of the gate, I delivered my first eulogy and served as a felony-jury foreman — experiences I never anticipated having. Never would choose… They set an unusual tone for what has been an unusual year. 

As this moment of thankfulness arrives, I begin with the significant professional shift that occurred this spring: a 14-year chapter closed. It was a substantial partnership that brought challenging work and terrific colleagues and learning not just about business communication, but about helping a client through its own cycle of success and struggle. Grateful, and learned a lot.

Walking through that exit in spring felt right. What’s next isn’t clear yet, but I’m working my network and exploring possibilities. After years of independent practice, I know this territory. You stay active and connected and something emerges.

One of 2025’s defining moments was watching all three sons graduate from their respective programs. Ben received his DPT and began his Houston-area residency. Rob finished his undergraduate degree in August and started Morgan Stanley’s analyst training program in Atlanta. John wrapped up at IU and landed with Lamar in Indianapolis. Three young men, three different cities, three careers launching simultaneously.

The pride, the gratitude, runs deep. Christi and I have done our jobs. These guys are positioned well to make their way. It also marks our official entry into the empty nest phase, which opens up many possibilities.

Back in May, our entire family traveled to Bloomington for John’s commencement weekend. It was memorable for reasons beyond the ceremony itself. Our crew had never assembled there, all five of us at one time. 

John’s fraternity organized the weekend beautifully, with multiple gatherings at the Fiji house where his pledge brothers brought their entire families as well. The university combined smaller school-level graduation walks with the single, large commencement at the football stadium — really well executed and memorable.

Ben’s graduation ceremony in August was smaller but equally meaningful. Rob didn’t participate in a formal commencement. He still had those final credits to complete.

Having all three cross these finish lines in the same calendar year felt significant. The same thing happened in my family back in May 1982, when Woody graduated from Harvard Business School, Cynthia from IU, and I from Memorial High School — all in the same month.

Mom turns 93 soon and remains in excellent health, both mentally and physically. My father-in-law John approaches 92 with good physical strength, though memory becomes more challenging. He’s quick to tell you he landed in a great place with excellent support from family and staff — he just struggles to remember from moment to moment what’s on the agenda. 

We’re fortunate on both fronts.

The year also brought loss. In early 2025, Paul died suddenly at 59. A few weeks later I found myself giving one of the eulogies for our friend. Paul’s death sharpened my appreciation for what matters most, especially the long friendships that endure in a lifetime. (And so it’s been a year of effort to check in with many people.)

The fall brought opportunities to reconnect with exactly those kinds of relationships. We spent ten days in southwestern Michigan and Chicago in September, celebrating Christi’s birthday with her Michigan cousins who all gathered for a long first weekend, then spending the second half of the week in South Haven with our close longtime friends Brent and Maria. 

They’ve relocated there permanently from Chicago, and it was terrific to see “their South Haven” through their eyes. A month later in October, we returned to Indiana for IU football, catching up with John in Indianapolis and time in Evansville with Mom; then after Christi flew back I added hometown visits with high school buddies Mac and Bill. Those are decades-long friendships and in a year marked by professional transition and personal loss, those connections matter more than ever.

For Paul’s friendship, and for the friends who remain, I’m deeply grateful.

The WSJ’s evergreen Thanksgiving editorial observes that any traveler through this country “cannot but be struck by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater.” The visitor returns “thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be.”

We’re not perfect but our nation has produced more prosperity and freedom for more people than any society in history. How will we preserve what we’ve inherited? How do we endure the storms from without and within? We will, and we will. 

The answer, as always, lies in the daily work of free people governing themselves. We remain, as the Journal puts it, “the marvel and the mystery of the world.”

Here are my specifics for 2025:

  • Thankful for my extraordinary wife Christi and our 33 years together… for our sons Ben, John and Rob, now launched in their careers
  • Thankful for my Mom, still sharp and strong as 93 arrives; for father-in-law John and the excellent care he receives; for my brother and sister and their families; for David/Lisa and their children
  • Thankful for my Dad, Ken D, both grandfathers, Uncle Bill, two cousins, and my father-in-law’s brother — who served
  • Thankful for all my friends, neighbors, and familiar faces — those daily and decades-long connections that make life rich
  • Thankful for a system that allows independent work, for the freedom to chart the next

“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving

 for my friends, the old and the new.” 

— Emerson