Yet Another New Year Post

When I run my finger across the spines of the short stories that make up 2013, I find they are a diverse collection. Some comedy. Some romance. Some triumph of human spirit. Some tragedy. Some how-to. Beginning with love lost, ending with the loss of a loved one.

What I notice is the book ends. Not the simple, metal ends, slid under the first few books. They are ornate and substantial, in the form of a woman. While they look a like, they don't match.

On one end there is a strong woman who is finding her voice and stance. She's still wobbling with the unsurety of standing up for herself. She is simple, yet polished. She is perched precariously close to the edge, and yet she hold up the weight of the beginning of the row.

On the other end is a woman who has found her voice and her stance. And yet, she still wobbles a little. Standing up for herself has come at a cost. She knew it would. But the dividends out weighed the price. She is ornate, adorned with the jewels that life has given her. She too is precariously close to the edge. But this time it's the edge of possibility.

Then there is the shelf its self. It is strong and able to hold the weight of all that is placed on it. Cut from good wood, supported with strong brackets, anchored into the wall. Just when it would start to sag, someone would come in and turn out to be a bracket instead of a book. Adding to the story, but not to the weight.

So I close the back cover on 2013. Slide it in the last little space. Like any good book, it has made me laugh and cry; bored me and held me captive; made be want to slam it shut and kept me up at night turning pages. Best of all it has enriched me and left me with some thoughts:

How does it define me? What will I do with what I've learned? When will I write the next story? Where will the story be set? Who will fill the pages with me?

2014 is not a blank book, there are notes scribbled on the inside cover. Keen words from the past, meant to be reminders and inspiration of what was experienced. Inscribed by the author.

I take up my pen...today I will help some friends...a good beginning.

May this year be the story you would want to read.