Life is like a box of chocolates

Chocoholic's dream
London, Ontario, December 2006 [Click to embiggen]

The calendar tells us that we're about to hit another one of those once-a-year milestones that'll prompt predictable reflections on the year that's past as well as resolutions for the year to come. Before long, all of this wll be forgotten as we dig back into the routine of everyday life.

And when I feel I'm falling back into that relentlessly gray routine, I'll think back to this picture, to the moment when I took it, and the reason why colorful images like this can spark the imagination in ways that can't be predicted.

Over the past year, I've evolved this blog from one that's been primarily focused on writing to one that peers more deeply into my evolving passions of photography, journalism, and technology analysis. My camera has become an everyday companion - and a day on my blog isn't complete without a new picture to share.

On the work front, I ratcheted up the media thing - getting onto the CBS Evening News last summer and being in the middle of the exploding laptop battery controversy was a serious highlight for me - and left a whole lot of career doors open for myself.

I wrote, I captured, I enjoyed the journey. And I got to share it all here and, in the process, I met some genuinely kind, intelligent, good folks. If you're reading this, thank you for sharing in my crazy husband's/dad's/writer's/photographer's/cyclist's world. I'd do this anyway even if I didn't have an audience. But a party is always more fun when the room is full, and I very much appreciate your making this such a rich experience for me.

As in past years, I'm making no new years resolutions. I'm a daily-resolution kind of person, and as this day ticks into the next, I resolve to seize tomorrow just as I seized today and yesterday.

The journey isn't always comfortable or safe, but it's unique to me, and I'd change nothing if I had to go through it again. I'm blessed beyond description - a beautiful wife, three healthy, smart and squabbling kids, a comfortable home, a challenging and rewarding career, and a strong sense of control over where our life goes from here. I'm not filthy rich (yet) but I suspect that few financially rich folks are as pleased with their lot in life as I am with mine.

I hope that in 2007, my wife and I get to grow everything we've managed to build thus far. And I hope you'll continue to share in the journey by reading my blog and leaving your thoughts along the way. May 2007 be a blessing to you and everyone who matters to you.

Your turn: What's going through your mind as 2006 segues into 2007?