I am not sure how many “You and Me” columns (or “Difficult Relationships” columns) I have written in 2009 – but, apart from minimal technical limitations of email occasionally occurring, as far as I know I have not skipped a day. As “You and Me” has become an integral part of my daily routine going back about ten years, I have often asked myself what it is that so motivates me. Friends, of course, who are regularly fascinated by this anomaly (how many people do you know who write a daily newspaper column that is published 12,000 miles away?) ask me the same question.

I think I know the reasons:

1. I thoroughly love the discipline of family therapy,
2. I deeply desire to make an impact with my life,
3. I need the daily discipline required to form the column everyday, and
4. Being in your daily paper is a fine way to stay connected with my roots.

It’s 2010. It’s time to invigorate our emotional, physical, and psychological lives afresh. Thanks to all the readers who offer this column support and to the many who write to me on a daily basis. One of my deepest regrets is that I cannot write and talk to every one personally – but it is certainly not without trying.

Thanks for a great 2009, this year is going to be even better!