2006: A Year in Review
I’ve gotta say this year went by pretty quickly. Sometimes I look back at what seemed to be a quick year and realize that it has dragged by yet I remember typing up my year review this time last year and it doesn’t seem like that long ago. I guess that’s a pretty good thing.
In many ways 2006 was far better than 2005 mostly in the nature category. The hurricane season was non existent and we did not begin the year looking at tsunami devastation. Instead we watched terrible images of man made horror with the war in Iraq. America took a political turn however and finally said “enough is enough” by voting in a Democratic House and Senate. Hopefully that means bringing troops home soon. I think looking at all the things that happened not just to me but to the country this year, that was number one.
On a personal level this year didn’t involve moving or house buying which is to my great relief. The cats are the cats and over a period of months real routine was established for a change. We got a chance to visit two places on our list of places to visit—Key West during spring break and California this summer. Both places lived up to even my greatest expectations. Seeing Jay Leno (in the front row no less) was one of those things I won’t ever forget.
Of course having what you want comes at a price. Sometimes I worry when things are going *too* well. It feels like something bad is just destined to happen. I know that makes me a pessimist but those of you who are reading this likely already know that about me. The last day of school back in June was a wonderful, happy day until I walked into the house, set my things down and discovered over the course of about 20 minutes that A* was deploying and that we had a broken pipe in our wall. Six weeks and 200 phone calls later the pipe (and drywall, and baseboards, and carpet, and foundation) were repaired and mold free which only left us with the sense of urgency a deployment can bring. People told me I’d get used to it; give it a week, two weeks, a month but now after over 100 days I have given up on ever getting used to it. It is what it is. I can only hope all the troops get out of there soon and that I will look back on this later and find some positive benefit from all of it. Right now I’m not seeing it.
My job brought new challenges but ones that I have enjoyed. Reaccredidation has been a big part of the last few months as has my decision to co-direct the Christmas play, something that was strangely both easier and more difficult than I ever imagined. My students themselves have given me challenges that I’ve come to accept as the norm and for the first time, I feel grounded in my job and more or less like I finally know what I’m doing!
This year brought the death of beloved pets and the birth of beautiful babies. I have witnessed the marriage of dear friends and happily heard the news of my brother’s engagement. I have started learning tap dancing and I have reestablished my love for reading. I have watched 7 seasons of The West Wing from start to finish and I have proven to myself that I can do things that I never wanted to do or even thought I could. I have lost touch with people who I regret losing. I hold hope that the next few days will carry us uneventfully into the new year and that 2007 grants us new treasures and new resolve to live our lives with integrity and look to the future with promise.