Good-bye 2007, Hello 2008

It's hard to believe another year has passed already. It's true, sometimes time seems to crawl-- like when you're waiting for an adoption referral you were told would take about 6 months and it's already been 2 full years (those poor families waiting for children from China!). But more often then not, time flies by. The older I grow, the faster it flies. My marriage seemed to speed up time. And then came Casey. Now I have a hard time shifting out of fifth gear long enough to enjoy the company.

2007, like the year before it, brought a lot of change, and it also helped us settle into some new routines. For me, 2007 was all about finishing law school. Of course, there were other big events in 2007, besides law school graduation. Like sitting for the bar exam. Passing the bar. Saying good bye to my work family, where I'd found myself comfortably cozied into my cubicle for about 5 1/2 years. Starting a new job. Traveling to Ohio to visit with extended family and to observe one my closest friend's weddings. Traveling to North Carolina to visit with another dear, dear friend and to visit with my parents. Testing out pretty much all the public transportation San Diego has to offer. Playing at Disneyland. Celebrating my eighth wedding anniversary, joining friends in trips to Las Vegas, and making cakes for my kids' 4th and 2nd birthdays. And who could forget the Fire Storm, which sent us packing-- literally, albeit temporarily.

2007 was a reprieve from the catastrophic-type illnesses that had seemed to plague our extended family during the preceding three years. It was a year of final chapters and of new beginnings. In 2007 Marcie left Grandma S.'s exceptional care for the world of preschool. We said good bye to our faithful Honda Accord in exchange for a 2007 Odyssey. Casey switched sports from soccer to baseball and swimming, at least for a while.

In 2007, we welcomed a new nephew, a new brother-in-law-to-be, and learned we'll be adding a seventh nephew (or niece-- we don't have any of those yet) to our family.

So we have much to look forward to in 2008. Though we're in for a long wait to China for B.S. #3, we've tentatively decided to pursue an adoption in the interim, probably from Ethiopia. We plan to begin that process in 2008. Casey will start kindergarten this fall (!), and my sister Megan, my sister in law Tiffany, and my best friend Ann are all getting married in 2008. In 2008 we will finish landscaping our back yard. We will visit Disneyland (again). We'll celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary, the 35th year of our lives, and we'll dance a happy dance as our children turn 5 and 3.

In 2008 we will become experts at Rock Band, we'll teach Casey to ride his bike without training wheels, and we'll squeal in delight as Marcie become officially toilet-trained. In 2008, we will laugh and love and sing and dance. We will appreciate all that we have, and all that we are. We will try to, as Emily put it in Thornton Wilder's Our Town, appreciate "every, every minute" while we live it.

I'm not naive to think 2008 will be without its disappointments and pitfalls. But it's only January 2nd. So let's start off this year with the "glass half full" mentality, shall we? No resolutions, except to try to appreciate life and all that it offers . . .