Farewell to 2009

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Most of the posts I have seen on Facebook and even an article in the paper today all have the sense of good riddance 2009, bad year, etc. And I just don't feel that way. Sure there were some bad things: employment worries for me during furloughs, pay cuts, layoffs. Kim's labor agreement worries took up a big chunk of the year. And those 2 things combined to keep us from taking any major vacations or making any huge changes. But here we are and I think we are better off now than we were a year ago, and like they always say: 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. And that's my view of this past year.

The family lost a good friend and family member in Manny this year. And there have been a lot of trials and tribulations, and some legal troubles. And that coupled with the economic woes have certainly cast a large shadow over the year.

On the positive side we made some adjustments in our personal lives, refinanced our house and learned how to better our spending habits. And as a result we find our economic positions improving. I would be remiss to not give a big huge, super gigantic thanks to Mom and Dad for helping out with the finances of child care so Daniel and Emily could be in preschool and Day care respectively. Thank you so very much for your help and assistance.

James had a banner year. Learned to ride a bike, read, gained independence, caught his first fly ball in baseball, made new friends, built lots of Lego. He just grows so fast and matures so fast some times it is a joy and a wonder to behold.

Daniel also grew by leaps and bounds. He has blossomed to an extent in his second year of preschool. His speech has improved, and it is clear that there is some deep thought going on in there some where. He enjoyed T-ball and soccer this year, although he clearly does not possess the same competitive streak that James has.

Emily continues to grow into my wonderful little princess. Her verbal skills have improved with the time in Day Care, and she is a joy every day. Of course she is 2 now and starting to hone those terrible two skills, with some truly wondrous fits, but that's just par for the course.

We added a new addition to the family in Spotty the puppy around Thanksgiving. This is the first true puppy I have had. So that means I have the opportunity to learn and apply my problem solving skills to puppy training, which is a new experience. But it has been fun for the whole family, and I look forward to the continued fun as we all learn about each other and develop.

Kim was her usual industrious self, building a solid niche at King Soopers, making herself indispensable through hard work and applied intelligence and common sense. We enjoyed some more outdoor activities over the summer, and finished some big projects around the house. My love for her and joy in our time together grows every year as well.

My attempts at weight reduction and improved fitness had some starts and stops, and misdirections. But I have gotten a better handle on things now, and hope to see that continue into the new year. I continued to read voraciously, with trips to the library every 2 to 3 weeks. My attempts to find hobby time have not been so successful, but teaching James to play Magic bodes well for future interests. Of course my role playing group has continued on, although we have not played as often as in years past due to the vagaries of life and scheduling.

Looking back at all that, it really was a good year. So many good things happened to us that we can't say it was all that bad. And on that note we can really look forward to the New Year, because if we can have such a good year when the world around us was seemingly falling apart then imagine what our lives will be like when the rest of the country catches up to us!