Prelude to 2015: Memories, 'Muggsy', Tulips & Metaphors

As the New Year is fast approaching I find myself looking back with fondness for memories created and forward with expectation of what lies ahead.

Looking back at the teenager I was at 16 who was experiencing her first and soon to discover only white Christmas while dad was heading the aeronautical engineering team that built the Gemini fuel cell which got us into space in a big way and was the precursor for all fuel cell technology, I find myself thinking about that bitter cold winter my dad and brother Ron built a mock-up of that yet to work fuel cell for his required science project, and a Bull Dog called 'Muggsy' by all who knew him.

In loving memory of that season of my life, and in preparation for what will come once our 2015 New Year's celebration is done, I've posted Tulips because Tulips were what ‘Muggsy’ loved best and once my mom saw that arthritic pooch’s legs bent in pain as he laboriously made his way up the hill to our front door to snap one tulip off its stem then leave to do the same again the following morn as we kids headed off to school, this act of perseverance in the face of untold pain, defined 'Muggsy' as much as my mom taking another bulb from her stash in the refrigerator where they were kept at just the right temperature throughout the year so they would bloom when planted.

With all her grumbling to the contrary I think mom understood 'Muggsy'. In fact, I wondered if she weren’t planting another bulb so there would be a Tulip for him to snap off.  And then one day I knew the answer to that question, for arriving home just as the snow stopped falling so hard one could barely see, Ron and I were sent to scour the neighborhood in search of that old dog. Unable to find him, we returned home and found mom in the kitchen crying. No more tulips were planted and our mornings were less joyful.  So whether you’ve a 'Muggsy' in your life or not, please be thankful for all that you’ve got and as you usher in the New Year remember that everything is passing so…

Paula Rose Michelson is the author of Romantic Inspirational Fiction, biblically based Christian Self-help, Political Nonfiction, as well as Works Written to Encourage. Information about the author & her books are found on Amazon at: http://amzn.to/1z8ydzA