Once upon a time.

The End.

It seems some pages are missing. I looked for them. I even tried to write them, but try as I may, I couldn’t really recover the nearly seventy pages missing from our story. And it was going to be such a great story. Terrific twists and tantalizing turns. Complex character arcs. Dynamic dialogue. Captivating climaxes and rewarding resolutions. But it never came to be. Our story cut short.

Oh, we tried for awhile. We really did. We tried to make it up as we went along, pretending and playing that is was the same, but our imagination did not endure, and we soon realized that our story no longer fit the script. So, we abandoned it. We had to. And the story, without our consent was written for us, for the play had to go on, and it did, but it never really felt like our story, and here at the end, it seems an unauthorized account of something sacred, a tarnished tale.

But like it or not. It’s what happened. It’s what played out, and as we look back and learn from this time, it is my earnest hope that we hold dear to the truer tale from our beginning and let go the stranger saga at our ending. It’s still our story. It’s just not the story we could have written once upon a time with a far better end.

Happy Friday, all. Thank you for being me with me this fourth year of Project 180. I thought to write a different story here, too. Thank you for limping through this time with me. Next year is supposed to be the end of my five-year commitment to the Project, and I hope it lends itself to a more satisfying story and conclusion than this year. Have a wonderful summer and please stay safe. Thank you for being here. I will be back in the fall, and I hope you will join me again. Take care.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.