Looking Back...

I started working on this post a good while back, as a way to take stock of my year.  It has been quite an interesting one, and a busy one too.  Thanks to some cool technology, this entry will post itself as I celebrate the coming new year with a very lovely woman.  We're at a New Year's Eve party, having a great time in our formal wear.

This year has been a roller coaster of emotions and activities.  I've lost, but yet I've gained too.

Some of the highlights:

• The rare opportunity to hold in my hands several bacteria that have caused widespread plagues in history -  Anthrax, Plague, Tularemia, and others
• Jumping off a perfectly fine building, supported only by a half-inch of rope....all for fun training
• Training on United States nuclear bomb test ranges in the high Nevada desert
• Accompanying 6th Graders on their annual field trip to Chattanooga.  That should be something that EVERYONE should do.
• Enjoyed a relaxing week on the Alabama beaches in July.
• Road trip to Houston, Texas, for work.  We drove instead of flying, and that was fun.

Interspersed between all those things, though, I went through a lot of change.  Most notably, I became single.  It wasn't what I'd wanted, but it is what it is and I cannot change that.  Second to that, I've lost two-thirds of my grandparents this year.  In that, I've seen the depth of my mother's strength.  I've lost one parent; I cannot imagine the loss of two in a six-month time frame.

Between the highs and lows, I've had the rare opportunity to experience what it means to be loved by friends.  In this year, about a dozen people have stepped forward to lend or reaffirm their friendships with me, and for them I am eternally thankful.  Within that group, there is one star that shines brightest - and she is my date tonight as we celebrate the passing of this old year.  She's teaching me how deep a close relationship can be.  I'm not the best student in that regard; thankfully she is a patient, caring person.  I've written about her, and I've written about her parents, who I'm also thankful to count as new friends this year.

So come, new year.  Come, invite us to new opportunities, new horizons, and new experiences.  I pray that we take full advantage of the clean slate offered to us.