Advent

I have always loved Advent calendars with their little doors and hidden images. If you are not familiar with them, they are put up during the month of December to count the four week leading up the birth of Christ. We have just begun Advent in the Christian sense, and it got me to thinking about what it means in regards to one's life. Pregnancy is an Advent season, for example. We go through other obvious Advents like waiting to move into a new house or apartment.
Advent is a time of anticipation and expectancy, it is also a time of preparation.
What are you anticipating? What are you preparing for? Or what could you be preparing for? What would be an exciting event for you to celebrate in the coming year?
I know it is customary not to start thinking of the new year until after the Christmas holiday, but then there is a lot of pressure to come up quickly with some clever or obvious declaration for a "resolution". What I am thinking about is not a resolution, but a new "thing". It could be a new attitude or an addition to your routine that is 'just worth a try.' A resolution suggests a commitments to something even before you know if you're going to want to keep it. So this season, think about the holidays as a period of Advent. What is dawning on your horizon, and how do you want to prepare for it? Happy Holidays!