'08

Happy New Year to all! This is my second New Year as a blogger, and hence my second life-assessing New Year's post. This is the time of year when everyone seems to do some goal-setting and such, and bloggers being a little more self-absorbed and analytical than the average person, there is no shortage of it around.

I am, of course, no exception to the self-absorption rule:-P I actually went back and read last year's New Year's post to see what was the same and what had changed. Surprisingly, much is the same...right down to The Boy asleep and recovering from an entire day of me putting his most sensitive parts through a really strenuous workout (yea, me too...I am pretty sore:-D). Smoking Hot Roommate and I sat down for a quiet breakfast while the boys slept to celebrate our last New Year's as roomies...OK that made me sad.

So...what was this year all about? In some senses, not a ton. I have the same job, same boyfriend, same friends, same life, etc. I didn't find any new siblings this year like I did last year;-) Munchkin continues to amaze me almost daily. The Boy gets cuter and makes me more and more googly all the time. SHR and her family continue to display a level of generosity towards Munchkin and me that is beyond my ability to adequately describe.

Of course, a lot did happen this year. I did some traveling...Chicago a bunch of times, Mexico, Las Vegas, London, Newport, New York City, New Hampshire and Vermont that I can think of off the top of my head. My Father died and I still don't know that I care that much. I learned to play golf, badly. I saw my much adored Big Sis get married. My Father's entire family (whom I do care about) came to visit me. I became a Nascar fan...kind of. Harry Potter wrapped up:-). The Boy and I took a little break, which in hindsight was for the better, but was no fun at the time. His closest friend and most beloved sister had a baby.

I also had a bit of a health scare in July. Nothing a little bit of surgery couldn't solve...but it led to some deep thinking. Some of which I never really resolved (like..."What should happen to Munchkin is something happened to me"? I know what should, but I don't like that idea much.) But like most things, I think I am better having gone through it.

Munchkin has really grown up a ton this year. When she moved out here, she was definitely 100% little girl and needed me a lot more than she does now. She is not a little girl anymore, she is very much a young woman. I write about some of her growing-up issues (like the boys that all fall completely head over heels for her) but I also leave out some of the other stuff. But this was a big year for her...emotionally, physically, socially and every other way you can imagine. She has boobs, for Chrissakes! How am I gonna deal with this?!?!? She needs me less now, but she still needs me, and she still likes having me around. And that's good, because I love being around her.

And she hasn't outgrown chicken fingers or her love of ordering 7up and Cranberry juice in fancy glasses:-)

I am only going to make one resolution...I would like to see Tinkerbelle once a month. I will probably fall short of that, but if I get close, that will be a whole lot better than this year.

There will be some changes this year...starting with moving this weekend. I think that The Boy and I will move to a little different relationship stage soon. And then he will probably move in with us later this year. Munchkin becomes a teenager (yikes). Smoking Hot Roommate is getting married. Big Sis is likely to make the jump and come to work with us. Papa Bear may start to move towards retiring.

Truth be told, I have been on kind of a roll. This is like seven years in a row for me that were better than the one before. My New Year's wish is that the streak continues.