Prompt – Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

Been pretty much avoiding this one all day.  One, because I didn’t really take too many pictures this year, it’s just been too busy of a year – but two, because I find this picture much more signifies my year.

My daughter and I have had at least 4 different opportunities to witness this sort of a sunset since we have moved here to Destin, FL – and each time we have seen it, it has come at the end of a pretty hectic, and what we would both call pretty much unbearable day.

It’s like the Universe was speaking to us each time it happened and said to us both, “look, nothing is ever so bad that I can’t grant you this little piece of beauty to make you understand that there is a bigger picture” – each and every time this happened to us, we would look at each other and just giggle cause we knew – we knew exactly what was going on.  And we both understood without saying a word.

I captured quite a few of those sunsets on my camera, but by far, this one was the best.  The colors are magnificent, and the clouds were just perfect.

I am thankful that I had this opportunity this year to share such a grand display with my daughter.

Do you have a picture that speaks to you like that?

Prompt – What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

There have been a few things happen this year, where when looked at in hind site, indeed give you reason to say the above.  Let me mention just a few.

As mentioned before, there were more than a few times this year, where I really didn’t know where my daughter and I were going to live.  At that point, everything is NOT ok.

When first separated, I was granted temporary housing out of the blue – 3 months at a condo on the beach for a fraction of the regular cost – SHWEET – just what I needed to get my head straight.  It also gave time for my sister and her husband to settle the ‘short sale’ they had been working on since earlier that summer – deadline, January 31, 2010.

January 31, 2010 came, and went.  No closing.  Nowhere to live.  Had to move out of the condo, stayed with a friend for a week, then stayed with other friends for 3 weeks, when by the grace of higher powers, was connected with a couple that needed a little help with renting their downstairs apartment for a bit.  In by end of March.

Whew – everything is gonna be OK.

However, now my sister and her husband are in a bind, they have to be out of their place by end of March or the rent almost doubles (vacation home) and yet, nothing is showing up on the radar for a home that can house the three families (my sister/her husband, my mom, and my daughter and I) – until again, at the last minute, a home too good to be true lands on their laps.  Bam, they are in by May 1, 2010 – and then I am in by August 1,2010.

What this proved to me is that worrying about it wont bring you results – sure, you can’t just sit on your hind end and expect things to fall perfectly for you, you have to give the Universe something to work with, but it cannot work with worry, it can only work with action.

None of us stopped moving forward, sure it was stressful, and sure it was worrisome, but we kept moving forward and was granted a beautiful home in the end.

Was there at least one point this year that gave you the feeling that it was going to be ok?

Prompt – Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?

Ok, this one is kinda strange – doncha think?

What if I already like my name?  Better yet, what if I already do that?  ::giggle::

A few years back I was introduced to a concept about having an “inner brat” – that little voice that talks to you telling you to “do it later”, or “you deserve a break, sit down and watch a soap and eat bon bons”, or whatever other saying you say to yourself that gets you out of doing the things you need to get done.

There is a whole website designed for discovering who your “inner brat” is, however, they got rid of the “inner brat” analogy and now they call it the “inner kiddie” – which is sad, because the “inner brat” really fit the bill to a “t”.  That voice in me that says those things is a whiny brat that needs to be handled!  ::giggle::

Anyhoo, I gave my “brat” a name – Sandy – and sometimes when I am having those bratty conversations with myself, I stop and just say, SANDY – GET A GRIP and then reason with myself on how handling things that way would be counterproductive to any goals I might have made.

However, have you ever been in a situation where you just want to bring out that brat instead of the calm, cool collected one; the one that has to maintain a certain “air” just doesn’t seem to fit when you just want to BLAST something or someone?  ::giggle::

Try this sometime, and I know this sounds really silly, but when you are alone, have a dialog with yourself and let that bratty-ness out.  Say all the things that you would like to say, but never get a chance, you will be amazed at how freeing that is.

What has that all got to do with the prompt for today?  Absolutely NOTHING, I didn’t like the prompt and had no idea which way to go so I thought I would just tell a story about my inner brat.  Now I am gonna go sit on the couch and watch a soap and eat bon bons.  ::giggle::

Do you have an inner brat?  If so,  have you given it a name?