a year in review

2009 through my eyes....

it's funny looking back at it this way - has on only been this year that i learned about textures, the beautiful of pola coloring and the wonderful light a window can bring? it also appears that i'm rather fond of diagonal lights, the close-up instead of the faraway, and a lot of blue.

thanks to all of your for your unflagging support and suggestions during the year. i am inspired by you (as you can see in some of my 'lookalike' shots) and am in awe of the talent we have in our circle of friends (and their friends and their friends' friends...and so on). i look forward to more inspirations and laughter with you.

a journey

the only thing you take with you when you're gone is what you leave behind...

i stared at that statement for a while as i thought about what it meant...but then the meaning took flight in my heart. i smiled. as the year draws to a close i've been pondering what it has meant to me - what will i leave behind as i kiss 2009 goodbye? what will i carry in my heart?

the endurance of trying times. the lesson in charity and faith. the love of friends and the luxury of a support network that has loved me throughout. the gift of new friends flung far and wide across the globe. my heart is very full.

but there remains room for more if we open our hearts, then that miraculous organ expands...and expands...and even expands more. even when we think it might burst - it always has room for more love and more joy and, sadly sometimes more pain. and even when it feels crushed and broken, if you leave it open - it has room for healing. wonderful heart.

and i wonder what 2010 holds for me. i've got to hold the rudder firm and the sheets as they struggle in my hand when the wind whips around me. (sailing talk there - a bit of drama there as i love a good sailing metaphor) i'm not one for resolutions. i make it up as i go along and do mini-resolutions throughout the year - tweaks (sometimes major repairs). yes, there are changes i would like to make...i've already started working on them. just as 2009 brought changes, like clockwork, so will 2010.

dani has challenged me, and you too - to a one-word resolution in 2010. in light (and celebration) of that challenge, i've decided to go with 'journey'. because i see my life as the journey - the path - the adventure. may it be a happy one that leads to many more happy discoveries.

the aftermath

(taken by iPhone this morning)

i took the weekend off - celebrating the holidays and all of that. we do not do big holidays in my family, i just don't really see the need for it and it's not what the holidays are about to me. instead, i got a few heartfelt gifts and those were just perfect. we went to see 'a christmas story' play at the shakespeare festival (i thought it was adorable but i feel a feeling the boys were very bored). we went to church and i was moved to tears by the message. and the children's choir sang - who can be untouched by a children's choir? not me. we had our dinner together and i tell my oldest niece (she's five) almost wet her pants in excitement over opening presents. how knew a 'littlest pet shop' purse could be ah.maz.ing. not me. and the stocking was a big hit...of course now others in the family want one. maybe that's a project for next year.

then there was the obligatory after-christmas shopping for discount decorations and i finally made my christmas dinner last night. ham, chicken and dressing and pecan pie. i even have leftovers. (the leftovers are the very best part)

coming back to work, the halls are quiet (i wish i could say the same for the construction outside my window today). i have music playing quietly and i'm plowing through the e-mails that are coming in now that people are slowly coming back to work. christmas came and left in a hurry for me. and that's okay, i enjoyed its brief visit.

peace be unto you...

may this holiday season bring you the peace that your heart seeks, the balm that heals all, the love that binds us together, and all the dreams you wish to come true.

may this christmas bring you the joy of a child and the happiness that only true contentment can bring.

may it be the most beautiful of holidays and the harbinger of many more beautiful holidays to come.

peace...

88 days and counting

winter came quietly, if officially, yesterday at 12:47 p.m. it didn't yell or draw attention to itself, it just settled in and wrapped my world in bright blues and chilly air. no snow (that's okay with me), no drama (also okay too), just a sweet knowledge at this the shortest day brings on additional minutes of light each day. it started it's icy crawl towards the equinox just 88 days away. 88 days...isn't that like piano keys (or is that 82? i forget). the flats and sharps of the season.

welcome winter - i'm happy to have you because you bring along your friend spring soon enough. in the meantime, i will love your aquamarine skies, lacey frost on the leaves, and the pink tips to everyone's nose. the faster steps, the crunch beneath my feet and the feel of a warm coffee mug in my cupped hands all make me glow. the barren branches shape a lattice against the sky and the branches take on a special grace. all the things i love for you this season - reminders of when that cold wind blows and i despair that i will never see green again, that you do bring in the green season. if not for the cold, the flowers would not blossom as bright. so welcome, even if i don't always make you feel at home.