Day One

Seven months, two days, and five hours to go. 

And then, the test of all tests. The no-cheating-your-way-out-of-this-one, sink-or-swim, pass-or-fail test. The one that we all have to take someday (and it's not the GED). The test that conscientious parent eagles have been administering for eons...

Once upon a time, baby eagle (that's you) was cheerfully, chirpily living it up in the nest. His only concern each day was what mamma eagle was going to regurgitate for dinner. Then one day, mamma eagle comes back to the nest, and instead of feeding him, pushes him to the edge, and there baby eagle teeters, his eyes glazing as he takes in the jagged rocks below.
"But Mom, I can't..." she pushes him out of the nest, "flyyyyyyyy!!!"
*Please do not call PETA until story is finished. No eagles were harmed in the telling of this story.*
As baby eagle finds himself plummeting in freefall, the first .32 seconds of thought read, "did that just happen?" The next .05 seconds are spent in various verbages of "cool." At .38 seconds, baby eagle has realized his peril and repeats, "I'm gonna die." At .41 destruction seems imminent, and baby eagle goes into shock. Reflex then takes over, and strangely enough--within a split second--the eagle has begun to fly. The shaky wings hit the air gasping, but the pulse strengthens as the air thrusts the eagle higher. And every eagle pushed out of the nest must learn to fly.

Seven months, two days, and four hours to go. And then, the test of all tests. As the New Year ball drops into free fall, so will I--I will move out of the nest and on to a limb. Let's hope I learn to FLY!