Nothing but Time

The passage of time can be a relative measure. While some days just drag, years pass by in heartbeats. For the last fifteen years I've kept what I like to call a "backwards" calendar; it's my attempt to document time's passing while accepting its forward march.

I started in December of 2002, the year my first child was born, and I've kept it up through two more kids, two dogs, two homes, a dozen cars, a few vacations, a host of blood donations, and countless other events. I outline each month in my book and, after the fact, briefly record each day's happenings, from the mundane to the extraordinary.

This was a special year for my "backwards" calendar, as it was the last year that fit in my lab notebook. I had to start a brand new notebook for 2018! While a new year always brings a sense of fresh starts and renewed beginnings, I'm taking  this new book as a good omen, a chance to recharge my life with beautiful adventures, hopeful thoughts and unprecedented joy. Why not? I'm choosing to believe my new book will be filled with some quiet hours, some happy days, and years filled with life.

(Unlike this weathered fellow who looks like he's seen some stuff.)  He could be hanging out with you! 

My hope is that love seeps and oozes onto every page of my new book. My adoration of insects is no secret and I'm loving this flag design, as it does encompass feelings of love, ladybugs and just a hint of spring. 

And to answer the question from a few blog posts ago, NOTHING is better than puppies. I'm thrilled to be chronicling my pup's adventures on my fresh pages. 

Through keeping this type of "journal" I've learned many things, the most important of which is that life is seasonal: no "weather" lasts forever.

So if life is cold right now and you prefer warm and sunny, just sit tight; the winds are always changing and a new breeze might be mere moments away. As Chuck said in Cast Away, "I've got to keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?" Happy New Year!