Just two weeks ago, we welcomed a brand-new year. A fresh start. We excitedly wondered how it would go and what we would remember about this new kid on the calendar, 2024.

Last week pretty much solidified this year’s theme: 2024 is going to be a year of change. Big change. Perhaps more change that we’d like or will be comfortable with.

Now, I’ve always been a fan of change. First off, we just can’t control everything going on around us and when you eventually accept that, you find that closures or layoffs or sudden shifts in your world can actually bring out something good and leave you in a better place. It’s happened to me a couple of times. It may push you towards something you didn’t believe you were capable of or hadn’t even considered.

Now, this being a Presidential Election year, we already knew 2024 was going to be a Schlitz show. So far, it hasn’t disappointed. You’ve got an unstable House, a divided Senate and a couple of great-grandparents fighting to be sworn in as our next president a year from now. I try not to think about it too much.

But last week pretty much sealed the deal that this is going to be a year of change, and some local sports teams really drove that point home hard. The Seahawks decided to go in a different direction and let go of longtime and much beloved head coach Pete Carroll. I’m pretty sure that Bubble Yum Bubble Gum stock tanked that day. And, immediately following that, we learned that after two years, Husky football coach Kalen DeBoer was going to grab that Alabama head coaching job vacated by Nick Saban. (I wonder if he’ll take over the AFLAC commercials?)

With Carroll, I understood. But the DeBoer decision left me with extremely mixed feelings. Here’s a guy who got the steering wheel of my Washington Huskies and, in just two short years, took them to the National Championship game. They didn’t win it all, but next year…yeah, that was gonna be the year. He was going to recruit the missing pieces who would want to come and play at the #2 program in the country, right? After all, he was under contract through the 2028 season.

And then he was gone, saying it was an opportunity just too big to pass up. Also fighting for the headlines, the New England Patriots decided to make a change and break up with Bill Belichick after 24 years.

Now, there are those who are probably saying right now, “Tim, that’s just sports stuff” and that’s fair. But some other change may have gotten past you.

After 54 years, the company that made Fruit Strip gum said that was going away.

One of the must-visit places along the California coast on any driving trip, Anderson’s Pea Soup in Buellton, suddenly closed after almost 100 years and that site is going to be redeveloped. They may come back, they may not.

All this on the heels of local nursery Molbak’s finding out that property redevelopers changed their mind and that nursery that has been in the heart of Woodinville since 1956 would be forced to close forever. Their last day is January 28th. I’ve already dropped by twice to say goodbye since the news broke, and I’ve definitely decided no matter what business goes in there, they won’t see a penny from me.

Nike and Tiger Woods went their separate ways after being together for 27 years. Girl Scout cookies went on sale again, but no Raspberry Rally. That flavor is not returning.

And we’re saying more goodbyes than we had planned on. The other day, the daughter of one of my old neighbors posted some pictures of my longtime friend Scott and his grandkids. What a great collection of pictures! I had to comment, “Hey, Grandpa Scott!” I was thinking, “You know, I should figure out a time to get together again with Scott. I wonder how he’s doing?”

Later that day, his daughter sent me a private message, letting me know her dad had passed away several days ago after a 2-year-fight with Alzheimer’s. He was a couple of years younger than me.

And one more big transition to deal with last week: after almost 10 years with a biotech company, my wife found out she was being downsized and no longer had a job. So, now we’re doing some scrambling in regards to those insurance and other issues you have to deal with when unemployment rears its ugly head.

A mere two weeks into January, people!

And all this following my last blog about the demise of Vito’s restaurant.

Change is apparently going to rule in 2024 and, as I mentioned, change can mean a lot of positive, good things. But it would have been nice if 2024 had gradually introduced itself and maybe, over a few months, we’d would have started noticing a pattern and wondered if change was, in fact, going to be the theme of this year.

OK, we’ve now figured that out. So, what’s next?

Tim Hunter