A time for Reflection

Tonight at midnight, in our religion Wicca, begins the end of the old year. Thus, it begins a time of great reflection for me. First, it is a time when I look back on the old year and thing about what's gone, what is coming. Of course, it's ingrained in me to do this on December 31 as well. Next comes the birth of my son. A miracle to me. Then comes the anniversary of my grandfather's passing, followed not long after by my own birthday. And then we have Thanksgiving.

November is a month that I believe will be far beyond emotional for me. We are celebrating the holidays with family and soon after we will begin our second deployment. There is a lot to go back and be thankful for. A lot of strength to draw from this past year.

Today we will celebrate Monkey's birthday a little early. We will take him out for trick or treating for the VERY first time! And, we will vote. There is a huge mixture of the past and future in today.

So, tonight at midnight we will put out our cakes and drink to offer those of our family that have passed. We will reflect on our year and far beyond that I'm sure.

What do I hope for the coming year? I hope for strength. Not to survive this next deployment and not even that it flys by. I know that it won't. My request for strength is that we can appreciate every day. We will be apart, but we will still love each other. We will still be parents to our son. Those are things that need to be appreciated.

I also hope that I can not only find strength, but that I can learn to live in the moment. I've always wished to be able to do this better and I'd like to really find that ability.

This month, I hope, will be filled with posts about the milestones we reach. There are so many. I've past up so many without blogging, mostly about Monkey. But, I think that I'm in such a different place than I was one year ago. I'm ready to truly relish every moment.