Goodbye, 2008

2008 is FINALLY over and done with! And, not a moment too soon for me and my loved ones - - it's been quite a tough year in many, many ways!

• January started out with Dad having his first of 8 surgical procedures. Between all of them, he spent almost 7 months out of the year living with us while recuperating. We love having him here with us, but the poor dear missed his own home and just wanted to be back there, where he belonged. Finally, he was well enough to go back home, and is doing very well! There are still some residual effects from his last procedure, though - - still some numbness in his right hand, and trouble using two fingers on that hand - - but we are hopeful for a full recovery in the coming year.
• June saw me getting my Jeep wrecked, with myself and my nephew inside. We were rear-ended while stopped at a red light by a van going at least 35 MPH. There was over $4500 in damages to my Jeep, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt. After a couple of weeks of sore muscles and body aches, I am fine; my nephew is fine; both of the other drivers involved were not injured. And, my Jeep is all fixed up bright and shiny and looking good!
• July found me losing one of the best bosses I have ever had the privilege to work with. Due to unfortunate circumstances, he had to leave the College and go elsewhere. It was a very bad situation, and thinking about it, even now, makes me VERY angry. So, I won't.
• August found me taking MY turn with the Doctors, instead of Dad. I had a soft tissue mass removed from my right hand. It was larger than they expected, so instead of being off work 2-3 days, I was off work 10-11 days! It was a nice break, but - - I couldn't use my hand to do anything, which was so frustrating! But, the Vicodin took the edge off that! :-)
• September finally brought some very welcome GOOD news - - after 20 months on the market, we finally sold the other house - - FINALLY! Due to the poor housing market, we took a bit of a beating, but at least we are no longer stuck maintaining two places!
• December brought me a new boss, and from the looks of it, she is going to be great to work with. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Here is hoping 2009 is good for us, and also all of you as well!