Endings

In the photos below, readers will see aspects of our trip to the Battle in Seattle as well as some late afternoon scenes across the road from the Lovestead. All were shot as the year 2006 drew to an end. Just hours remain of this year; how they're spent will determine how much more will be remembered or recorded for our individual life chapters.

The ending to the Gonzaga game yesterday was not to our choosing, but many of the minutes leading up to the final buzzer kept us hoping for the best. In addition, those moments were filled with items worth noting: the phenomenal singing of the National anthem, the unbelievable Gonzaga student cheering section (definitely a force in itself), a quick visit during halftime with my beloved classmates Rick and Janet and their lovely daughters, the fun interludes seen on the basketball floor when the folks watching TV at home get to watch commercials, the superhuman efforts of athletes, and the short-lived but explosive anger of coaches reacting to referee rulings.

All these vignettes contributed to a special happening for those of us who attended our first-ever bigtime college basketball game, along with more than 15,000 other fans proudly wearing their Zags or Wolf Pack hats, tee shirts or sweatshirts. The ending came. Gonzaga lost. I don't feel that we lost, though. We gained another batch of memories that we'll look back on, talk about and rehash, knowing that the final score was miniscule compared to the overall experience.

We had planned to bring my mother, but an infected finger and the exhaustion brought on by the Christmas craziness convinced her that it would be best to view the game from her living room television set. We missed her but know she probably made the right decision. In her place, we invited friends to join us for the game and for dinner afterward at 5 Spot on Queen Ann Hill. It was a great get-together where other basketball fans had gathered. There was very little talk about the Gonzaga loss but much discussed about careers, geocaching, travels, and life events in general.

Today, the day after the disappointing ending of a ZAGS game, signals the ending to another year. There's no score to consider. Instead, just like the game yesterday in Key Arena, we can consider the steps that brought us to this moment in time. Were there stumbles? Yes. Were there milestones? Yes. Were there a million memories to consider for years to come? By all means, yes.

So, while contemplating whether it was a good idea to spend all this money and time to go 300 miles to watch our favorite team lose, I have no doubts. Had we not done so, we would have missed some very special moments that we shall cherish forever.

Good bye, 2006. Hello 2007, which promises many more endings reached one remarkable step at a time.