Here we are again, my friends. It’s the middle of the holiday season, and the end of another year. Always a good and appropriate time to take stock of the year’s triumphs and trials, comedies and tragedies, in hopes of shedding some light on the quality of our lives and our vision of the future. Inevitably,  it is the jumping-off point into another attempt to right the wrongs and find our way into the next chapter of our lives.

I wonder if it is the holiday season, or the winter season, that most influences the phenomenon of New Year’s resolutions, of the desire to start fresh and dismiss the rubbish of the past? I guess that depends on your belief system. In any event, it’s hard to ignore the bare trees that will soon bud once more, and the fact that, although the flower bulbs are hidden in the frozen ground, they will be sending up fresh shoots before you know it.

So, how do you prepare for the next step in the annual cycle of renewal? Do you brace yourself by firmly grabbing hold of something solid, muscles tense in anticipation of whatever may come? Or do you prefer to duck and cover, with your eyes shut tight against the shrapnel of life as it whistles past your huddled figure? Would you rather stand tall on an elevated position, and shout, “Here I come ready or not?” for all to hear? Personally, I have my eye on the garden. I know it will be back, and I am prepared to welcome it with open arms.