2008: Looking Back, Moving Forward

Some years go by rather uneventfully—2008 was on of those years for me. Given the current state of the economy, and how many people lost things this year...jobs, houses and peace of mind, I guess I can consider myself lucky. Young and underpaid, I didn’t have much to lose. That’s not to say that the ill effects of a down-turned economy haven’t trickled down to my family. They have. I think most Americans can agree that we’re ready to move on from a rather crummy ’08.

Personally, highlights of the year included places I got to travel to. Tommie and I really enjoy seeing different parts of the country—Tommie mainly enjoys sampling the local food. Although it’s hard to take the time off work and spend the money on traveling, I think we’ve both realized how important it is. Not only is it mentally healthy to take those breaks but it’s also enriching. This year we vacationed to Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina where we saw our first wild crocodile. We loved the little downtown area of Chapel Hill and beautiful UNC campus. Also, for you Dawson Creek lovers (it’s okay, you don’t have to admit it out loud), Wilmington is where they filmed the show and I almost swooned when I saw Dawson’s house from across the creek. We also went to Los Angeles and Sequoia National Forest (California) to see the giant trees and stayed in a quaint cottage on a river where I made Tommie slide down rocks into the water until he ripped a hole in his new bathing suit. We also went home (to Salem, Mass.) for Tommie’s brother’s wedding, which was so beautiful in the fall, and everything felt so harmonious we decided we wanted to plan our move back there. I also went to Indianapolis and took my flashy younger sister to Las Vegas on business. I hate it there. She wants to live there.



Our plans to move back across the country this spring (from San Diego back to Boston) will surely shake up my 2009: new apartment, new job/s, old friends, and old places. It’s going to be interesting.

Nationally, 2008 was anything but uneventful. The economy took a nosedive and we had one of the most interesting elections. As a cynic, it’s hard for me to believe that we’ll be able to rise above the mess we’ve gotten into...but as a dreamer I have to believe we can. 2009 is our chance to become better people and a better nation. Nothing good got us into this situation...war, greed, lies, thoughtlessness. We tried all that. Now, we need to try the opposite.

I already know that 2009 will be a year of change. There is a famous quote about change that goes: “If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it will change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry, it will change.” We have ups and we have downs. During the hard times it’s important to remember that there were good times...and there will be more in the future.

Happy, happy New Year.