2005: A Year in Review

Posted On December 31, 2005

I should have known when the clock struck midnight, signaling the close of 2004 and the arrival of 2005, just what kind of a year this would be. We’d spent the evening with friends in Maryland, watched the Gators lose but overall, had a wonderful time. Shortly after midnight however, we got in our car and drove north back to New Jersey. Going north anywhere farther than Gainesville, is going in the wrong direction.
So on the morning of 1/1/05, I woke up in the “armpit of America” and so began a real armpit of a year (minus the deoderant)
It wasn’t all bad, no, this isn’t a pity party. In March we closed on our house and that was one of the most exciting days of my life right up there with our wedding. It was a true feeling of accomplishment that set in motion a whirlwind of painting, decorating, moving, lifting and organizing. Mecca for me! But the whirlwind did not end there, merely a week after closing we found that there was hope of ending the AF stint early. We tried not to get our hopes up but internally, we were bursting at the seams.
And so began 4 months of insanity that included a rescue mission (heading north again), a fantastic road trip through 11 states, a long weekend at my favorite beach on earth and the moving truck dumping 90 parcels of stuff into my previously well organized house. Then there was the wait. Not exactly the way i’d hoped to spend my summer. But by August we were both dually employeed and both driving new(ish) cars. We welcomed our very first nephew into the world on August 9th and became an Aunt and Uncle! I was looking forward to starting the new school year and gas prices were rising.
But the burst of energy that began August culminated into a storm that the world came to know as Katrina. And that storm made everything– all the ups and downs of the previous year– melt into nothingness. I watched in horror and awe as the storm gobbled up the homes and lives and cities of my family members. Then waited to hear they were all okay though some homes and animals were not.
By that point I just wanted 2005 to end. The hurricane season left me on pins and needles and I came to dread just the sound of the weatherman’s voice. School started dragging, it was harder this year than last and gas prices reached a hight of painful desperation.
In October we said goodbye to the old cat Mickey.
And welcomed Minnie into our hearts.
We hosted our first Thanksgiving at home and suffered from the stress in the form of illness for the weeks to follow. The Gators brought an early Christmas present in the form of a seminole ass whoopin’.
Finally we watched our nephew get Christened shortly before Christmas and decorated our home for the holidays for the first time. We accomplished more with our home this year than we’d ever imagined, it’s helpful to live together under one roof.
And as the year ends, less than 12 hours from now, we hope and we pray that 2006 brings us happiness, health and calm oceans. We look ahead for what’s to come and hold only to the happy times of the year passed.