The sky is mushy gray -- it's raining and quiet outside, almost as if it is a Sunday rather than a Monday. I kept thinking that the Rose Bowl would be today, but it has been moved to Wednesday. I am Rupelstiltskin, away after 20 years and things are changed.

I've read several end of year wrap-ups on blogs. I wish that I had a way to sum up 2005, but my mind does not work that way. Years are abitrary, and now at the beginning of a new one, I have no idea what life meant for me this past year. I am slow at figuring these things out.

Today is a birthday. Franklin the dog is six years old. I picked him up when he was eight weeks old, give or take a few days. Birthdays do not mean much to dogs, but I am grateful for him in our lives. In a litter of four, only he and his brother were available. I chose him, or he chose me. It was a good match.

We had an eight hour drive back to Indy after I picked him up. I was nervous about getting a puppy. He was about as big as my shoe -- maybe my shoe was a slightly larger.

Tomorrow will feel like the first day of the year. Work will begin. We will all resolve. Today, it rains.