The Next Chapter

Okay, so I'm not starting my blog with all that random "my first post!" crap. Just not my style. This is my most recent thought, you're welcome to enjoy the first brief look into my head.

As I close out one big, lengthy chapter of my life, getting ready to open the page to the next, I have to stop and appreciate and recognize all the things that have happened in life. I'm not going to bog down details, but I raise a toast to those I have loved, those I have lost, and those who have loved me. To my dad who couldn't be here for all this, and to my mom, grandparents and family who have helped see me through. To those things that could have been but weren't. To those things that perhaps should not have been, but were anyway and turned out well. To the adventures and misadventures. To the hopes, the dreams, the losses and the schemes. To the journeys near and far. To the battles won and lost. To the hearts lit aflame and to the hearts shattered. To the ones that weren't 'the one.' To the ones who really cared. To every turn, every err. To every mistake and every miracle. To every exciting day and every endless night.

What will the next chapter hold? Who knows... life isn't like other books, you never know where the story ends exactly. So you always hope that the next chapter sees all that you want to see happen. The hero gets the girl, good defeats evil, and so on. But you just can never tell. I have my prayers for what will happen, who will come into my life, who will be there, what will happen and when and where, but only reading on will allow the story to unfold.

There is much I'd like to say to many... some much more so than others. There are still some storylines from this chapter that I hope get revisited. Characters whom I hope haven't seen the end of their part. I count my blessings in the innumerable experiences I've had and the fantastic, absolutely amazing group of people I am fortunate enough to call my friends. I could write a whole book about each of you, wherein every word was a praise, and still not come close to allowing others to see and know you as I do.

I'm a strange person when it comes to friends... I count amongst my friends even a precious few who are lost to me across time and distance. But who know what will happen.

He's another toast, to a good night's rest and a good sense of humor. I'm so thankful I can help people out with a laugh. We could all use more of that, I think.

So how to wrap this up? With a prayer, of sorts... just as this chapter closes out to a long list of events both good and bad, may this new one be even fuller. May the good things I've hoped for finally come to pass, and may I be as much a blessing to my friends as they are to me. May I be able to forgive those who abandon me when the time is worst and my need greatest, regardless of word or bond. May the wounds I've caused others unintentionally heal scar-less, and may the new chapter see a new light on an old story. May those who aren't here to turn this page, whether they departed under terms good or bad, find their own way in life and be fulfilled and free from burden. And may each of us find everyday something new about life that makes us wonder at the whole world.

And now the next chapter has begun.