Happy New Year!

Welcome, 2009!

I love the new year. It's always full of such hope, such anticipation. On January 1st, the year can always be "the year everything changes." 2005 was that year for me. That's the year I met Josh, on a cold January evening in Dr. Giles African-American lit class. I suppose, though, that "the year everything changes" is every year. In 2006, Josh and I were married. That certainly changed everything! And Mom had her aneurysm, and lived. In 2007, I finished grad school, Josh and I survived our second flood, we got Chappu, and we had good jobs. In 2008, we rang in the new year asleep after driving through a blizzard to make it back to Rockford, the trip taking five hours instead of the usual three. We planned a trip to Hawaii that fell through, we tried to move and couldn't, until we finally gave up and things fell into place, we went on vacation to Nashville, I moved in with Rita and Mario and started my new job, and a few weeks later, Josh came, too. Jeremy got married in August. Grampa Beck got sick in October. Lupe got sick at the beginning of December. It was a busy, terrifying, adventerous, wonderful year.

And I am excited to see what this year will hold. This January 1, I have a less clear picture of the next 365 days. Last January 1, I knew Josh and I would be trying to move closer to home, that we'd even maybe try to buy a home, that we'd go on vacation somewhere. We are here now, and we have jobs. I can only wonder at what I'll think of 2009 when it comes to a close. But I anticipate, and I hope, and I remember what Jeff Crosno once said: "I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."

Right now, though, I am just thankful for the time we've had off this holiday season. It has been absolutely fantastic. We've slept in nearly every morning, I've had a chance to watch the Today Show and the judge shows in the afternoon, Josh has been able to try out his (several) new video games, we've been able to visit his Gramma several times, and we haven't thought a whole lot about job security or the bad economy. We've just been thankful for the time we've had with our families, and with each other. And we still have three whole days to enjoy. Yay!