Unique......

Talk about determination and hope and making any of my problems absolutely minor.......... watch this youtube video - I cant help but tearing up when I do and then thinking about everything with a deeper commitment to be more grateful for what I have.......

http://www.guzer.com/videos/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.php

And - along those lines... I know that every person, every situation is totally unique. Here are a few photos that I took of snowflakes earlier this week.  To me, its awesome to see how unique, special each and every one of them is.  Sadly, they start melting even before they hit the ground, or the tub of ice that I have prepared for them.  The snowflake lasts longer if it lands on ice and gives an interesting effect too...... I will post more sometime.

And when I see how incredibly fine and beautiful these individual flakes are, how far they have travelled and how they literally disappear in seconds, right in front of my eyes..... it makes me think of life.  The flakes I capture with the camera can always be looked at, wondered and admired and even mourned for disappearing - but it happened, I saw it, I admired it and wondered at its beauty.  It enriched my life, made me see things clearer and brought home to me just how delicate, precious and awesome life is.

People are like this - once we have known them, they will always be part of our lives, our souls and who we are.  Even if they die too young or way too soon - nothing can take their time away from you.  Even a stillborn baby affects that mom for life - it did for me.  And so a snowflake makes me think of people like Adrian and Dawn and so many others....... they were here, they impacted our lives, they got up!  (See video in the beginning of this post), they showed us how.  They are awesome.

They also make me think of people like Shane and Lea and Tyler and Hans and Steven and so many others that are also incredibly special, landing on the ice of life that is keeping them around longer.  

There is not a day that goes by that I am not incredibly grateful for the people in my life - the love and the light and the laughter and the life shown by so many people with issues way, way bigger than mine........... Thank you!

Love and light

Annie