* Saying goodbye to 2009 *

Finally.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up, not only for me, but for all of us who felt that this last year could peacefully and happily have been skipped right over in the decade's calendar. It's finally over.

It was a hell of a year, wasn't it? Personally, I'd have to say it was probably the worst year in memory. My husband was laid off for eight months, my mother died from an incurable form of cancer, friends and family divorced, lost jobs, lost homes, lost loved ones, and we've had a number of crises within our little household alone.

And yet...

There were still a few bright spots, and a few unexpected surprises. There were still causes to laugh, and to smile, and to celebrate small victories. And it's those small moments that brought me through to today, the last day of the year.

I was hopeful about the year ahead on this very same day last year. But it seemed that there were more bumps and kicks for us in 2009, and for many others, than seemed fair. But life isn't fair. We all know that.

And still....

There was just enough joy to keep us sane. Enough happy moments to float us along to the next one, regardless of the hurdles we had to jump over in between them. There was just enough light to balance the darkness, even during the moments where it seemed the darkness would swallow us whole.

We're alive. We're healthy. We can still laugh and play and love and enjoy this gift we've been somehow able to cling to, if only barely. We're still here.

And now I sit here once more, looking back on 2009 with only a feeling of relief that it's over. It has scarred us permanently and some of the wounds from it will never heal. But they'll fade. Over time, they will fade.

And I look ahead with hope once more, that the new year will be a good one for all of us. And it will be. I know it.