2010, parting is not sweet sorrow

So this year pretty much sucked ass. I think Queen Elizabeth hit the nail on the head that year she dubbed it Annus Horriblis.

Right after my last post, I spent a few days in self-wallowing pity thinking about all the bad things that have happened this year. When you put them in a list, it's pretty bad. I always thought of myself as having such a charmed life, and I guess it finally caught up with me this year.

The biggest change was the loss of my father. Even today, four months later, I can barely think of him without growing teary. I was so lucky to be able to spend so much time with him in the months before he died. I think we said all that needed to be said to each other. There were no regrets. I just miss him so, so much.

I won't categorize the rest of the shitstorm because, well, it just isn't worth all that. What is worth it is that I survived. We survived. And we are moving forward.

This has been a year of strengthening old friendships - some that I thought had faded away with time, some that have always been there, some that have weathered storms between us. It's also been a year of finding surprising new friendships that are natural and comfortable like your favorite pair of shoes. It's been a year of finding out who my true friends are and letting the rest fall away.

Most of all, this was the year that my family was reunited. We circled our wagons when times got tough and rediscovered each other - the good and the bad. Mostly the good. I think a lot of old baggage was finally unpacked and put away for good. And we discovered that even with our age differences, differences in politics, religion, lifestyle choices, and just about everything else - that our love for each other and our parents really overruled all that other bullshit. It feels good. No, it feels great.

What will 2011 bring? Well, other than (hopefully) a new furry addition to our family, all I can hope for is for a better year. I have high hopes. Either that, or I am still as delusional as ever.

Goodbye, 2010. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.