A Fitting End...

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As some of you know, I attempted the 365 Project this year - with dismal results.  I did fairly well through mid-June, but then I essentially gave up due to life's circumstances.  A few years ago I would have viewed this as a failure, but this year I just view it as a temporary set-back.

I plan to try the 365 project again this year and I am looking forward to the challenge - and the discipline.  In anticipation of this new endeavor, I decided to take a final photo of 2012 - and it is quite a fitting summation of the year.

Last Christmas my son gave me this beautiful snow globe depicting the 75th anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  This gift had many special meanings.  First.... he chose the gift when he went to New York City to propose to his girlfriend of five years.  Second.... he knows how much his mother loves the parade (it is on my bucket list) and he took the time to find a most thoughtful gift,  And third.... Brynn loved the gift from the first time she heard the tinkling music.  It helped me form a bond with my granddaughter that I will forever cherish.

2012 began as a year filled with hope, but it quickly became a year of unsettling disappointment.  The wedding proposal did not manifest itself into a December wedding as planned - and the emotional turmoil this caused for everyone was nearly unbearable.  At the time the relationship was disintegrating,  mid-June, Brynn accidentally dropped the globe and it shattered.  Fortunately no one was cut in the incident .. but the magical globe lost its enchantment.

But six months later I look at this broken ornament and still see beauty.  I see a vision of a parade that I will one day visit - and I see magic in the romantic event that brought it into my life.  I also see wonder in the face of a toddler and I cherish the memories that are contained within its broken shell.  The couple is still together - and there is hope that they will one day become husband and wife.  What was once a broken and useless object has now become a symbol of hope rising from the depths of disaster.

Here's to a joyful and peaceful and hopeful New Year.