New Year (no resolutions but maybe a few wishes)

We had a lovely end to 2008, though I'm not sure I'd call the year itself lovely.

Too much upheaval and angst at work; too much worry/stress about Ben, though I think we're on the upside of that issue (I hope).

Maybe that is why I had no desire to do anything on New Year's Eve but stay home and hang out with the family. We decided to have just a collection of appetizer/sampler type things for dinner. Ben requested latkas. Jim wanted "summer rolls" from our favorite Vietnamese restaurant. I would have grabbed some misr wat and injera but our only Ethiopian restaurant is too far away for a quick takeout run. We added some coconut shrimp and some plantains to our little international feast (also some strawberries, just to be sorta healthy).

Jim put the folding table on the patio (ah, Florida, it was a beautiful night), and we ate under the lovely glow of Mr. Tacky (our inflatable snowman).

Really, it was perfect. Than we watched Bednobs and Broomsticks, which the kids loved, though Ben expressed grave doubts when I showed him my movie selection (when will that kid learn that Mom knows things?).

We had friends over for brunch the next day, which was a low-key, enjoyable start to 2009.

I discussed resolutions with my family -- very small ones, like we'll all make our beds every day -- but no one seem interested. I think the direct quote was, "That's not going to happen."

I guess I could make it happen, but it's just not a battle I feel like waging right now.

So we head into 2009, not with a list of resolutions but just hopes that things are a little calmer, a little more upbeat -- and with the realization that many people have had a far, far rougher 2008 than we did. We are all basically healthy. Our house may be too small (in my eyes) but our mortgage is reasonable and fixed; our work may be in transition but we remain employed. We are together.

So hello 2009.