The last Monday of 2012

Oh, jeepers, Reader. Get ready. I am feeling sentimental about 2012 (and life in general) today, and I think it will show in the Marvelous Monday notes.

1) I finished The End of Your Life Book Club over the weekend and loved it. Besides being a great story about the relationship between the author and his mom - and all of the books that they read together - it made me think a lot about gratitude, living mindfully, what kind of legacy I want to leave behind and what part I am playing right now in moving my community forward. I went in assuming it would be sad (his mother is terminally ill almost from the start of the book) and instead felt inspired by how his mother lived and the light she cast into the world. The book also made me scribble about five more books into my "to read" list.

Oh! I know one is supposed to do year-end recaps before the start of a new year, but I have a 2012 book report coming up with my favorites from the year.

2) Santa brought me fleece-lined leggings and they are a total game-changer.

3) My sister and her boyfriend cooked dinner for my family on Saturday night as their Christmas present to us! I hadn't seen her new(ish) apartment before Saturday, and it was beautiful (and the dinner was great, too).

My brother was crouching by her Christmas tree but then started standing up mid-picture, so he kind of looks like he springs around a room like a cat:

After most of dinner, the actual cat, Buffy, decided that we could be trusted and came out to play.

I thought I was a dog person, but I do love Buffy, too!

4) I love, love, love holiday cards. When Josh and I returned from 10 days away from our mailbox, the bulk of the season's cards were waiting in one pile, so we got to open them all at once. Each year, I put them up on a post in my kitchen and keep them there way, way past New Year's Day. I love seeing people we love up there.

I know people don't send out pictures of the days when they feel cranky - actually, if I weren't such a tireless advocate for optimism, I think it would be a really funny tradition to send those cards out, maybe in January! But these little cards remind me of how much our friends and family are celebrating this year: school and family and travel and projects and love and lives being well-lived. (I warned you I was feeling sentimental!)

5) On that note, I found out today that two of our friends are having a baby in 2013!

I will never forget 2012, for many reasons large and small, including a pair of pointy ears and a morning on a porch in Tennessee. I'm grateful for the year and excited about the years to come.

It's another good time to thank all of you: for reading M&L, for letting me post about Wish more than once per week without too much heckling, for your comments, recommendations and feedback. We'll cross M&L's two-year mark in the spring, and I have learned so much from writing almost daily and from connecting with you through it.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?