No Stopping Time

Every January I like to look through my year's photos and pick a happy moment.  Here is my son and I at the mountain summit in October.  We had a great time hiking this mountain and we have already put moutain hiking on our list for things to do this coming year!

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Good thing I take photos along the way or else I would not remember most of my year.  Why is that?  For some reason this year the days just seemed to slip one into another, into weeks, into months and then a year!  Our life this past year just seemed to be a series of routines and I just did whatever the calendar dictated.  I seemed to have a hard time concentrating and relied on schedules and lists - right down to meal planning and housecleaning!  There is no stopping time, whether you are ready or not it keeps marching right along.  But with lists in hand -  my household ran on schedule, phew!

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My photos tell the story though... birthday cakes, new babies in the family, puppies, kittens, trips to the zoo, museum, our gardens, nature hikes, the weather & seasons, the beach, cooking, sewing, knitting, craft projects, camping, car trips, train trips, plane trips, boat trips (yeah, we travel a fair bit just getting from Point A to Point B).  Family visits and all the family dogs too!  Some home-improvement and odd projects.  All the normal stuff for us.  Usual.  Just a record of the normal routines of our life, day by day.  Really - all stuff that I love! 

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And then, horribly - November when my husband was in the hospital for 3 weeks with cancer (they got it all thankfully - neatly contained in a 6.6 pound tumor). And then a quick overnight hospital stay for my son with a high fever - it is awful to see a small child in a hospital bed.  And then I think - normal and usual - we had a peaceful year.  Yes, we had our share of hard work, struggles, challenges and tough times.  I tend to have to juggle alot of things all at once and that is not always easy.  But we had our laughs and smiles and good times too.  And at the start of a new year, we are all together.  Healthy.  And ready to keep marching together toward the top - because the view at the summit - is definately worth the hike!  But - don't forget to have fun along the way!