Day 359 – Light at the End of the Tunnel
After today, I have one week left in this year-long
blog. It’s hard to believe I started
this so long ago – it doesn’t feel like a year has passed – and it has been
instructive to read some of my earlier posts again. A lot has changed in fifty-one weeks.
I have often thought about the cliché, "a light at the
end of the tunnel.” Sometimes I repeat
the joke that it’s the headlight of an oncoming train. Sometimes that hasn’t been a joke. I had a brief period of bright light in the
tunnel when I got my job – which has been a relief and a blessing – only to have other big issues pop up and challenge me. Now
that I have to deal with the vagaries of “real life” again, I find the light at
the end of this tunnel is somewhat subdued. The light is there, and I’m grateful for it, but it isn’t the bright light
of a honeymoon resort on a warm, deserted beach. It’s more like a foggy morning – I can’t be
certain what lies ahead of me, just beyond the curve and out of the range of visibility. Early light is brightening the vapor that
enshrouds the tunnel’s exit; I can see the road, though, as it passes out of the
tunnel and into the open air that is thick with uncertainty and expectation.
I move toward the light – hopeful, wary, curious – and find
something to be grateful for. I know I
will emerge safely, and I’ll proceed cautiously. I am lucky to be here today.