#64: ode to 2006

01.01.2007 is just a few hours away; time enough to reflect again on the year that has been.

I've had ups and downs – nothing unusual there. Most days were mundane, but there were occasional novelties. A mobile phone, my first champagne, a blog (actually two), 10 miles in 78 minutes, a digital camera, a ride in a convertible, a road-trip to Boston and Plymouth Rock, out taking photos in a blizzard at 2:00am, reconnecting with some good old friends, and above all – a short vacation with parents, the first in more than a decade.

The opposing bookend was the moments when I threw up my hands and wondered, "Why? Why? Why? Why?" It felt like being under the cosh; finding myself on the wrong side of the double-edged sword named "hope". It was the helplessness of having given it all that I could, and still falling short. Hope, which I had in abundance this time last year, made the trip back to reality that much more painful. I tried putting on a brave face, and treasured the good moments – if and when they came, even more.

So as the clock strikes 12, do I dare wish for a better 2007? Or not tempt fate and leave it at that? I haven't decided yet.