Day 28

Celebrating the New Year is a time for reflection and looking ahead. It is a time for beginning anew and forgetting the past. Yet I have never really been one to celebrate through sequence and stilettos nor prime rib and lobster.

For my final task, I decided to take a solo trip to Santa Fe. I have never been and had planned on leaving since last March when struck by illness. So today seemed like a perfect time for it all... leaving Colorado in 2009 and returning in 2010!

The true experience began early this afternoon when I was headed over to my mom's to say, "So long" and be on my way down the highway. To my surprise, both my mom and sister (and 6 month old niece) decided that they'd be both my travel companions as well as my New Year's dates.

Typically, I am very comfortable jumping in my car and driving. I may drive to Aurora, I may drive to Portland. I even have aspirations to drive to South America someday. I suppose you could say that road trips are sort of comforting to me, so having unexpected passengers is, no doubt, the most appropriate way to end my project of new experiences.

Throughout the 6-1/2 turned 8 hour trek, I single-handedly taught my sister how to correctly read a map, act as Western Colorado tour guide for my mom, and simultaneously become a "wild thing" that even Max would be afraid of.

It is now a little before the infamous ball-drop, and a great time for me to do my own reflecting and forward-looking. I am fairly confident that all of these daily tasks I have been carrying out have only been bringing me closer to actualizing a very prosperous New Year.

Love and goodwill to ALL...