Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays

A moment of gratitude for a global community

Today’s coffee is Green Mountain Black Granite—dark, steady, and unpretentious. The kind of coffee you drink slowly, not because you’re rushing to the next meeting, but because you’re pausing to think.

That feels right for this time of year.

As we move through the holidays and toward a new year, I wanted to write something that steps away from tools, roadmaps, and modernization strategies. This one is about gratitude—for where we’ve been, what we’ve built, and the people who’ve helped us get here.

And this isn’t just for those in the U.S. celebrating Christmas or New Year’s. This is for the entire IBM i community, wherever you are in the world.

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Gratitude Beyond Geography

Our community spans countries, cultures, and time zones. Some of us are celebrating holidays filled with family traditions. Others are simply closing out another year of work, reflection, and survival.

What connects us isn’t a calendar date. It’s shared effort.

• Keeping systems running when no one else realizes how close they came to stopping
• Teaching the next developer how things really work
• Showing up for production issues at the worst possible times
• Carrying knowledge that isn’t written down anywhere

That matters. Even when it goes unnoticed.

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Thankful for the Systems That Still Stand

It’s fashionable to criticize old systems. To label them as outdated or fragile.

But the truth is simpler.

These systems have endured because people cared enough to maintain them, improve them, and protect them. RPG programs that still run today are the result of decades of decisions—some perfect, some imperfect—but all made by people trying to do the right thing with the tools they had.

If you’re supporting IBM i today, you’re not standing in the past. You’re standing on top of it.

That’s something to be thankful for.

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Thankful for the People Who Teach and Share

Every year, I’m reminded how generous this community is.

People answer questions.
People write blogs.
People speak at conferences.
People mentor quietly, without titles or recognition.

They help others succeed because someone once did the same for them.

That generosity is the real platform. Tools change. Languages evolve. Communities are what last.

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For Managers and Leaders

If you lead teams, this season is a good reminder to slow down and notice what your people carried this year.

• The stress they absorbed
• The changes they adapted to
• The responsibility they quietly held

Progress isn’t just measured in releases and roadmaps. Sometimes it’s measured in resilience.

Say thank you. Mean it. It goes further than you think.

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Looking Ahead Without Forgetting Where We Are

A new year is coming. There will be new tools, new ideas, and new expectations. That’s good. Growth matters.

But growth doesn’t require abandoning gratitude.

Carry both.

Respect the past. Invest in the future. Take care of the people in the present.

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Final Sips

As the year closes, I’m thankful for this community—for the conversations, the disagreements, the shared curiosity, and the quiet professionalism that keeps so much of the world running.

Wherever you are, and whatever you celebrate, I wish you rest, clarity, and momentum heading into the new year.

Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year.
Happy Holidays.

And enjoy the coffee.