A Mulligan?

So, someone recently suggested to me that they are taking 2009 as a mulligan for 2008. It seems to me everyone I know had rather mixed feelings about last year. The only person I could think of who might have had a good year would be Barack Obama, but even he had 11 months of exhaustion, attacks and time away from his family before he got his dream job.

(2008 was filled with lows...)

For me, the year was filled with both death and birth, tragedy and elation, failure and success, health and illness, loss and introduction, pain and joy. I lost a father-in-law but gained a nephew, lived apart from my wife and was there with her family through the most difficult of times, left behind some friends but made new ones and reconnected to a few extremely old ones, felt out of place in New York and Bonn before finding my niche in both places as well, plus felt sicker than I have in my life and also became healthier and more productive. Those are all simply events that happened to me personally. I also watched my country bicker divisively over an all too long election process, go through an economic meltdown, and after a legacy of slavery and segregation overcome prejudice to elect an African American to its highest office. Through all of these experiences, my emotions and energy fluctuated so wildly that the swings were difficult to manage. Finally, during last summer I got so sick I could hardly believe it. I had a fever for about 8 days, odd colored liquids oozing from my eyes, pains throughout my body and endless congestion. Upon finally recovering, I realized that life had thrown me a lot of obstacles in a relatively short time and, albeit not always gracefully or optimally, somehow I had managed to come through it.

(and highs.)

One thing I can say about 2008, it was a year during which I truly lived, for better or worse. Life is both a tragedy and a comedy. As in the last days of the year I was flying home for a wedding, the rules of Shakespeare would suggest last year was a comedy. Though I do not know if I would go that far, I do remember the times when I laughed more than those when I cried and the times when I felt happiness more than those when I felt downtrodden. Even in times of profound sadness, the depths of those feelings were rooted in earlier joyful memories, so there was hope in my despair. I do hope 2009 is better and less challenging in many ways, but I think I will carry 2008 with me in hopes that I will remember the lessons its challenges taught me. Namely, the lessons of letting go of past hurts, enjoying the time you have with those you love, finding somewhere you feel at home anywhere you go and once in a while leaving work behind to explore the world through discussing with good friends anything from a good meal, a thought provoking art exhibit, a compelling character from literature, a powerful piece of music, or a moving, poignant moment from a film or play. Each experience you have does effect you in a unique way, but sharing it with someone and discussing it helps you appreciate and communicate your reaction more deeply. On a side note, I also developed a new appreciation for the sweet potato and discovered where I can have the best borscht in the universe, both of which I will remember quite fondly about 2008.