I am a sucker for bookstores and libraries. The thought of the amount of ink that has been spilled over the course of centuries excites me.  The thought of a Kindle petrifies me.  I love books.  Each bound page is someone's opus, thesis, or work of art. I sometimes wonder what my life would look like if I just read book after book, only stopping to eat and sleep.  How many could I get through?

My family knows this about me, so every Christmas I come home with another armful of books: Cookbooks, literature, non-fiction.  It's marvelous. Then a funny thing happens. I just let them sit there for weeks on end, scared to bend their crisp covers. They are pretty and untouched. Their mysteries yet to be unfolded. I don't want them to be over with so quickly or to disappoint. Someone's life work gobbled up in a matter of a  month. I want to appreciate it longer. 

As 2009 came to a close I felt the same apprehension about 2010 -- not "oh ten," it's now "twenty-ten." The end of decade, the dawning of the throws of the 21st century. It's shiny and new and I don't want to blink and miss it. 

I love January 1st. The promises, hopes, and resolutions -- this time it will be different. There is an overwhelming amount of expectation, especially at the start of a new decade. For what? I'm not sure yet, but it's alive inside of me too. Like a new book I want savor it, not just throw it on some shelf only to toss it into the Goodwill pile come 2012. I want to appreciate it because Someone went to a lot of trouble to create it. That Someone is already at the end of 2010. They know what happens. Is it a thriller? A comedy? Tragedy? Romance maybe? It could be all of the above, but there is trepidation in finding out. It means we must live it. We must choose the story we want to write. 

Of course there are always edits and typos we never saw coming, but just as I pick up a new book, I want to choose how to read it. As I write, I want to be proactive in how I use my pen. In this new year I want to live with intention in the page of each day. Some days will flip faster than others, but I want it to be a story worth telling. So here you are 2010. Bring what you will -- may the stories that come out of this year draw a tear, draw a laugh, and draw many smiles.