Days 14 & 15

I am playing catch up this morning, since I spent yesterday on a plane to Oregon (another post on that, soon-ish). Without further ado, the prompts:

December 14 – Appreciate

What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year?

How do you express gratitude for it? (Author: Victoria Klein)

December 15 – 5 Minutes

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes.

Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things

you most want to remember about 2010. (Author: Patti Digh)

14-

Love- pure, honest, unselfish love. It takes all forms (romantic, friendship, family, etc.) I think the best way to get that kind of love is to love that way back. I haven’t done a good job of it lately.

15-
Remember the year you had. There was so much good and so much bad, but it all deserves a memory in the end. There are thousands of memories to rain down on your face.

You did small things, like move to a new apartment in March, quit your job in May, wrote a little poetry in the summertime, went swimming in June and July. You discovered you liked bacon on pizza, and you watched It’s a Wonderful Life yet again. You spent time with family. You laughed with friends.

On July 31, your daughter was born, and no memory erasure can blot her sweetness and beauty from your mind. Even without memory, you’ll be drawn to her like a magnet. She is your own. Nothing is more precious to you.

And on January 16, 2010, you married him. He wore a uniform with medals pinned on it. You wore a satin dress with a flower. You carried roses. You looked only at his face, his gorgeous eyes.

Thinking back to that day now, you wonder if it will last a lifetime like you promised each other. Remember the vows you said to each other, the vows so many millions of couples have also said? There were words and phrases like love, honor, good times and bad, keeping yourself only for her, cherish. But you two were special, the only ones who would make it when everyone else crumbled. You meant it…didn’t he? You were so intertwined in happiness, only to have it unravel in a tangled heap a short time later. Perfect to broken in a snap of the fingers, you struggle daily to understand (you never will) and to heal (you hope you can). Life has changed you both. You are clinging still to the his fingertips, unsure if it would be better for you both to just let go.

It’s a year of so many ups and downs, there are few moments of smooth peace and stability. But for better or for worse, it’s been the most significant year of your life. Don’t lose it. Don’t let it go yet.