So I was up until almost 1:00 this morning watching The Return of the King. You could pretend to be surprised.

The odyssey started on January 30th. This year a few loved ones and I decided to complete the challenge–to line it all up so Theoden says “So it begins” as the clock strikes twelve.

*clears throat* yes, about that.

We’re a little disorganized, my Hobbity crew. Got a smidge behind, so we were closer to Theoden’s speech about “I would have them make such an end” before the battle of Helm’s Deep rather than “So it begins.”

I don’t think we calculated switching the discs of the special extended edition into when we were supposed to start.

Eh. Ringing in the new year with Tolkien. I’m not going to complain.

Anyway, one of my Fellowship told me this morning that today is Master Tolkien’s birthday.

So here’s to J.R.R. Tolkien. For giving us the Hobbits. For building a world more beautiful and terrible than most of us could dream.

I confess: the date had slipped my notice. I’m good at keeping up with Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday, but other dates on the calendar, not so much. We all agreed it seemed fitting that we should finish today.

I’m not one of those people who thinks “starting the new year right” can make everything perfect, that a flick of the clock suddenly changes everything. I’m most likely to forget what year it is until the end of February or March. I’ve already done it once. I’ve entirely forgotten to make any resolutions, as if they would hold longer than a month. I haven’t even written a New Year’s blog post until January 3rd.

But I did return to a world of friendship and magic and goodness, of green fields and daring battles, a place that will always be a piece of home.

And doing what you love, dreaming of how the world should be–is there anything better I could do as the snow blankets the world in cold, crystal white?