Editor’s note: Amos is a church mouse, who types by hopping on the computer keyboard, but he can’t operate the capital shift keys, and he shuns punctuation marks — except dashes and hyphens. amos battles year-end blues boss i woke up depressed this morning it s the end of the year and my life is in disrepair there are so many deeds left undone so many words left unsaid so many promises left unkept it s sad i said so why not go back to bed but my alarm clock kept ringing its little knob off and i had to get up boss but i didn t like it much i was still depressed when i walked out into the cold winter air who do you suppose i chanced to meet — sadie the ladybug — she was singing something that sounded like a funeral dirge now here was a kindred spirit life is bad life is sad sadie wailed i should be in jail for all the ways i ve failed the end of the year is a drag for all bugs spiders and hags life is bad life is sad the end of the year is a drag now sadie says me i can commiserate but don t you think you exaggerate no way jose there s a lot more i could say in fact you could start with oi-vey oi-vey woe is me woe is me cried little miss sadie the end of the year causes fear and consternation shame and alienation anxiety and frustration and you find yourself face down under the shelf wallowing in self- pity and singing this little ditty life is bad life is sad each day sags like a bag life is just a drag by now boss i was so low my whiskers were barely above my toes just then flit the firefly flitted by whistling a happy little tune and crooning a bit at the fading moon you re so happy why says i don t you know it s the end of the year says me trying to hold back a tear that s the best time to be happy and free don t you see says he nope i don t says me why looky here says he it s the end of the year that s true but it s also the start of the new out with the old in with the new it s time to be bold a time to renew a time to leave behind all ills and unkind deeds and press ahead to new rhymes good times and kind deeds i tell ya amos the end of the year is a good thing you can clean up the old and bring in the new with a loud ring so stand up and sing life is good life is grand there s forgiveness in jesus the one who frees us from our past and sin a new year we begin so boys strike up the band after all life is good life is grand he was right boss life sure looks better on the other side of forgiveness amos