As I sit writing

[A] few days ago, I walked into a local bookstore on a mission.

In my last post I mentioned I leafed through William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying recently, and would probably go get it.

I got it.

When I picked up the paperback volume I discovered the book was bound for the silver screen, and the badge on its cover instructed me to read the book before seeing the film.

I have learned this is generally a good idea so I took it to the checkout counter. The bookstore has a few tables outside in front of some of its windows. It was a nice day so I sat down at one of them and unfolded the novel.

I read through only a few of the Bundren family’s accounts before I realized I was downwind from a cigarette.

From what I’ve gathered so far, and I am still flipping through the first few pages, the book is about a family preparing for the death of a loved one. It is also about a woman who is lying on her deathbed watching through a window as one of her family members constructs her casket.

The notion of an impending death often makes me think about life.

I’ve been a little nostalgic throughout the early days of the new year, and as I sit writing I wonder how the woman in the book must have felt.

I don’t think I’d be watching someone build my casket from my bedroom window, but if I were lying on my deathbed looking back on my life I wonder what would play in front of my mind’s eye.

There have been some big moments and a lot of memories in this life I am blessed to have. I have written about some of them in this blog. I went back through it before I started writing this post, and I have come a long way since the first day of my last semester of college.

I still can’t pass a typing test, but I have noticed a lot of improvement.

Thankfully, I haven’t been trapped in a parking lot again after covering a game.

I haven’t been camping in a while, but I’ve started taking advantage of any time I am able to quiet the beckoning busyness of everyday life, sit outside somewhere and enjoy the world around me.

I’ve met some new friends, and spent time catching up with old ones. I’m thankful for what they mean to me, and the part they all play in my life.

My family has always been a constant blessing, though it has changed in the past few years.

My younger sister married and moved three hours away. I’ve had to get used to not having her around as much, but she married a good, Godly man, has a good job and is living a great life. I think that’s all a big brother can ask.

My sister and her husband have traveled a lot since they got married, which has introduced them to a lot of places around the world and made me slightly jealous. (If you are interested in some travel reading, they have recently started a cleverly-titled blog about their adventures.)

If I were to include everything I expect to look back on from my deathbed, you’d surely click to someone else’s blog if you haven’t already.

However, I hope this year is one in which I am able to continue to appreciate all the happenings in my life while looking forward to the future.

I know we are all just a breath away from our earthly stories ending, but I plan on writing a few more chapters in mine.

If I get the chance to look back on them at the end of my life, I hope I’m not downwind from a cigarette.