THE END

It's the end of another year.

It's time to celebrate.
It's not just the anticipation of a New Year but it's my birthday.
I waited all this time to celebrate.
I don't have to grow into the next year until the very end.
Nice.

It's also a sad time.
Friends are slipping into heaven unexpectedly.
Yes, they are a bit older than me . . .  but why so many this past week?
What is it about the dark, cold, windswept days that tell our senses not to linger any longer on this earth?
It is the 'winter' of our lives for many of us.

There is something that draws us to the end . . .  of a year . . . of our lives . . . that draws us into a cocoon-like state.
I find myself curling up by the warm fire as my eyes linger on the dance of blue and yellow flames.

Part of me dies - that early morning zest that springs me out of bed on a warm sunny day.

I linger inside more than I ought so as not to be stung by chilly winds and icicle-cold weather.

Yet, I always look forward.
Light is already peaking out of the clouds a little more each day.
The New Year will bring new adventures, new ideas . . .  new life.
I walk into tomorrow a whole year older and learn to write a new number for the year.
I anticipate brighter days that will, in time, turn my attention to Spring . . .  then summer.

The End is never really the end.
There is always a new beginning.
As I anticipate new adventures while I remain on this earth, I also anticipate a glorious life beyond this world.
I am healthy and happy and content just where I am.
I know the 'end' will never truly be the 'end' for me.
God is with me.
Heaven is simply another place to reside.
Yet, for now, I embrace the New Year with hopes and dreams and a sense of anticipation.

HAPPY NEW YEAR . . . they all tell me.
Indeed, it IS a new year for me as I celebrate one more birthday.

I know it will be a good year filled with new discoveries.
I am already creating ways to celebrate each new day.
I sip tea and eat a few extra cookies.
 I unwrap the gifts ever-so-slowly sensing the love that my sister packs inside every package.
 She is so faithful to send me surprises every year.

Hubby also surprised me with an adventure at the theatre.  We never go out on this crazy night but this year we are defying all odds and stepping out into the chilly abyss they call winter.

It's all good.
Let us Celebrate this New Year as we embrace life to the fullest and then . . .  when it is time . . .  we can say . . .
The End.