There’s nothing like a little live Celtic music to put you in a positive frame of mind. Not that I was thinking negative thoughts, but the tunes just help make things so much better.

While relaxing at the Folklife festival last Saturday with my wife, I all of a sudden noticed a wave of happiness roll over me.

Lots has been happening with our paper over the last year, and I often become overwhelmed with all the changes. At first, change can bring on stress, but then once you digest everything and tweak your schedule to fit the new stuff in, it’s actually not so bad. It’s a good thing, because I can now shoot decent photos and videos and have been getting out from behind the desk to interact with people in the community on a daily basis.

I chose to work Memorial Day because I wanted to have our news be as complete as possible when the readers receive their papers. After finishing up a couple of pages in the morning, I headed out around town to take some holiday photos and see what people were up to while I was toiling away in the office. Flags were flying, the Park at Bothell Landing was hopping and some folks were helping remodel a local coffee stand. Being out there among the Northshore people made my day at work an enjoyable one.

What it all comes down to is that you’ve got to make the best of any situation that arises.

We could be talking about the Bothell City Council and their decision to annex the NEWBA (North East West Bothell Annexation) area or the leaders at the Northshore Senior Center trying to make their workplace welcoming despite budget cuts. It’s not always a perfect scenario, but that doesn’t mean we just give up — keep fighting and things will work out. Things may be a bit different when all is said and done, but that means a new beginning.

Mix in some uplifting music, and you’re set.