Yesterday afternoon I had been working on paperwork all day and was just burned out! Ever since the beginning of November, I have worked so hard and been so busy it truly has been insane! It was a beautiful late, sunny afternoon here. I grabbed my ipod, my headphones and Sally (my dog) and sat in the California sunshine by my pool. I have to say, it could have been warmer, but it was beautiful out nonetheless. The sun was getting ready to call it a day, as the seagulls started flying back to the beach. Their reflection in the late afternoon sun was so peaceful. It made me miss summer. I've always lived near the beach. The pictures on this post I took in Maui in January of 2006. Brande had given me a great Christmas present, a trip to Maui! One of my favorite places anywhere!
Anyway, yesterday afternoon I was listening to Adam Lambert sing "Mad World" on my ipod. That boy CAN sing! I listened to the song several times over and over again thinking about this past year, you know, what we've all been through. I thought a bit about writing 500 posts in a little over a year, and actually it wasn't the writing itself I thought about, but I thought about what I had been through in my own life during those 500 posts. Like so many of us, life this past year or so, sure got our attention. Did I ever think twenty years ago, my life would be like it is today? Nope, not a clue! I don't mean it in a negative way. I'm glad for the good and not so good things I've been through on my journey. You grow from experience. My life is good, I am blessed, and I'm happy and positive. My life is filled with such wonderful people and family that it doesn't matter "what" stuff I go through like everyone does. At the end of the day, when you crawl into bed and think to yourself, "life is good & I'm happy" you know you are okay! 
For me, the hard part comes when I watch the news, when I read the newspaper, or I watch "life happen". What has caused our world to become so callous when it comes to other people's feelings? What has caused our world to become so violent with no respect for human life? If I was a magician, as corny as this sounds, I would wave a wand over the world and HOPE it would spread peace, love and happiness. A dream, sure it is. But we never give up on our dreams, we need to keep HOPE alive in our hearts because change can happen if you "believe"! Blogs are good for that. They help keep that HOPE alive, they are reminders that there really ARE people that care, people that believe in the good. It is a nice reminder to turn on my computer in the mornings and start my day by visiting all of you. I thank you for this, for helping keep my HOPE alive. This blog has reminded me to keep looking at life daily, because it always has a story to tell! 
And as John Lennon sang. . . You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as ONE!
