The last day of the year – 2012. Newspaper writers and internet bloggers are looking back over the past twelve months, digging up and presenting lists of best and worst, interesting and otherwise.
For me, I’d just as soon look ahead.
2012 was – by my reckoning – as quick a year as I’ve experienced in some time. Contrary to popular opinion, years do not pass at equal rates. True, they are filled with twelve months and (excepting leap years) standard numbers of weeks and days, but some seem to trudge grudgingly along while others whisk by in an impatient flash.
For me, this was one of the latter. 2012 started as a year caught up in alternating fits of inactivity and furious planning. The physical part of the bookstore was closed and by the arrival of the new year, I was mired in the “any day now” part of anticipating the reopening. Good things take time, and it was not until April that I received the keys to the new location.
All the moving, planning, sorting, stacking, cleaning, organizing, and decorating tasks that were necessary to open the new location seemed to affect the passage of time itself. There weren’t enough hours in the day to get any one task completed. Summer came and went, and winter finally arrived, and now the holiday season is wrapping up.
I think I’ll be content to look forward to 2013 instead of compiling any list of my “year’s best” or “year’s worst” events. Suffice it to say that anything not on the list of things that need to be completed by the end of 2013 must have been something I managed to finish before the midnight wrapping-up of this year.
Thanks to all who visited the new shop, and my gracious appreciation for the many kind words offered in regard to the store as it is shaping up. It is, after all, a work still in progress. The image is proof enough of that. The picture was taken just under three weeks after the reopening project started, and while it isn’t dramatically different, the shop has already evolved from its beginnings.
There is a feeling in the air, an aura of anticipation – if you will – that makes me almost certain that the upcoming twelve months are going to be filled with wonderful things for the business and otherwise. I truly enjoy visiting with all of you who share part of your day in stepping through the front door, and look forward to seeing you in 2013.
Best wishes to all, and a Happy New Year!