Things that have never been...

A few years after I started working in an office and inhabiting my own cubicle, I started buying daily calendars; the ones where you tear off a page and each day contained a pretty image or a clever quote. I bought an “Italian word of the day” calendar the year after our Italy/Switzerland trip. I followed that with a daily calendar containing gorgeous Italian scenes. The Lord of the Rings calendar was one of my favorites, each morning tearing off a page and having the various members of the Fellowship greet me. In 2012, I got the “Don’t Swear the Small Stuff” calendar, providing me with daily reminders of how to deal with life when the sun is shining, but especially when, as an old classmate put it, God is peeing on us. This year, inspired by one of my best buds, Iya, I got Mary Engelbreit’s calendar, and oh, it’s got the best title on the box: The Best Things in Life Aren’t Things.

 In an effort to write more (which I often promise in the form of failed New Year’s resolutions), I thought I’d get creative and provide myself with a daily prompt so I’m not constantly searching for something to write about (the Lakers’ game-to-game issues notwithstanding, of course). So in the words of Maria Von Trapp, let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start…

“And now let us welcome the New Year, 
full of things that have never been.”

So here comes 2013, filled with so many possibilities that, truthfully, I haven’t given too much thought. Okay I’m lying – I have given the upcoming year a lot of thought. The new year always makes me look back from where I’ve come, and soon after I analyze the present in which I reside. More often than not, I come to this point and think to myself, “Anna, you’ve done nothing. This is nowhere near what you planned LAST New Year. Are you satisfied with yourself?” But this year, I’m giving myself a break. I did a lot last year – much more than I planned or could have ever imagined doing.

So many things I didn’t expect came to fruition in 2012 (like the progress I made learning more and more about photography). I knew it was something I wanted to spend more time on, but the opportunities that came along with it were all blessings that did little less than startle me, and heck, who doesn’t love surprises? I have to admit – I was scared to commit to anything because, as is one my many weaknesses, I don’t like to fail. But I heard a song by one of my favorite singers, Gary Valenciano, called, “Letting Go,” and the one line that struck me was this, “When hard may seem the task, one step is all He asks of you.” With that, I remembered my motto in life, “Divide and conquer.

So…a whole year’s worth of blog entries? I’d put that under “things that have never been” for me. And where do I begin with such a tall order? How about one post?

One post - check!