If you are living in the midst of a story, as all of us are, do we know how it turns out in the end?  What if there is more than one story happening, and more than one challenge along the way? Courtesy of Steve Czajka creativecommons Once upon a time, there was a girl who was given the responsibility to care for her younger brother and sister after school. She was unhappy with these duties, and her siblings did not obey her and do the things she told them to do. She began to grow apart from her sister and brother, and once they were all adults, was not close to them.  As life continued, she thought about making peace with her brother. Perhaps it was losing her younger sister which prompted her to visit him, and ask how he remembered their childhood. To her surprise, her brother said, I was always jealous of you. Our mother trusted you to care for us; why didn't she trust me? I could have helped out. Many of us have compared stories and memories from our childhood with fam...

Happy New Year Fireworks Vectors by Vecteezy   The old year fades away and the new year enters brightly, bringing hope for health and prosperity in the days to come.  Cultures throughout the world have their own method of celebration, many with fireworks and joyful music. Last year, just before New Year's 2021, I discovered a Youtube three part presentation of Hogmanay over Edinburgh that made a great impression on me.  When I looked for  Hogmanay for 2022, I learned much more about the tradition in general and the 2021 Youtube presentation in particular.   Hogmanay is the Scottish word for the last day of the year or New Year’s Eve. Although Hogmanay is generally regarded as the most important Scottish holiday, the origins of both the word and the traditions are obscure. Many people think that the term comes from French but there are also theories that it may have Gaelic, Norse, or Anglo-Saxon origins. The traditions, as with most modern holidays, likely grew f...