Well, it arrived fairly uneventfully, at least for us. The last time we rang in the new year was before kids, and the sleep I lack is precious, so today becomes tomorrow when today becomes yesterday and it's just another day. You're going to read that a couple of times to make sure you got it, aren't you?
So, let's start from the beginning. January. January brings cold gray skies, snow, more cold, and nothing much to look forward to. It came and went into February.
February for me is an even colder and grayer month than January. But this year, we were looking forward to a few days on the slopes, something we have never done before with the boys. Tommy could perfect his snowboarding skills and hopefully his brothers would enjoy some skiing, the two younger ones for the first time. But that didn't happen. Well, Tommy did perfect his snowboarding, but Joey and Jeffrey didn't embrace learning how to ski and Christopher wound up breaking a leg on his second run down a mountain.
At least it's a short month, even though we had an extra day this year. So, here comes March and hope that spring really will eventually arrive, but not before we got enough snow to make it a record with over 100 inches and just 2 inches shy of breaking a record. This year, I turned 40. G got me an iPhone I had wanted and my twin sister sent me money to supply myself with en entire year's worth of Friendly's Wattamelon Role. But that odd craving for this seasonal item has disappeared, amazingly enough! I tore up her check and sent her a DVD chronicling our 40 years.
Spring did arrive, and Jeffrey joined the BBC (broken bone club) when Joey closed the van door on Jeffrey's hand.
I got serious about securing a part-time job in April and somehow, things came together not as I expected, but blessedly when I was offered a job at my church, which I started in May. It was a welcome change to be working, even if the hours were less than I would have liked to work because of family obligations and little ones still at home. But the flexibility was and still is, priceless.
June arrived and eventually, the last day of school for the boys, but no vacation to look forward to since we took one in February and my 8-year-old van probably couldn't make the trip down south to visit family anyway. But we had the pool and it's only an hour's drive to the beach.
July brought a little bit cooler weather than we usually get and nobody had to camp out on the porch because it was too hot in his bedroom to sleep. The three older boys and I participated in Religious Education the last two weeks, me as teacher and them learning, but not before Tommy joined the BCC by breaking his collar bone while skateboarding.
G took the first week of August off, and we took some day trips. We also prepared for winter and added extra cords of wood to our supply because we refused to pay the high oil prices. I took to walking to work some days, or not going anywhere at all to avoid the pain of paying at the pump whenever the gas tank went below empty.
September! One of my favorite months of the year because the kids get to return to school! And this year, Jeffrey would be heading off to preschool three afternoons a week, which would give me about 7 hours of freedom. Of course, those hours are usually spent at work, but it is a great place to work and there aren't kids fighting and whining so it's all good.
October is always a very busy month with school and soccer and everything else, but I always enjoy it for the change in colors the season brings. This year, however, brought more sadness with the passing of the boys' pediatrician. It is still hard to believe he's gone.
November brought with it the excitement of the political scene that will be in future history books. Thanksgiving turned out to be more pleasant than it usually is and we prepared for Christmas.
December brought a little bit of snow, but a whole lot more of ice and another claim to natural history. We survived seven days without electricity, while others endured even more than that. It made for a beautiful Christmas in Londonderry with all the lights. Or lack thereof.
What can we expect in 2009? We will welcome a new United States President. We will see more snow, no doubt, at least here in New Hampshire. And I hope to keep reconnecting with friends from the past, thanks to Facebook. I have 149 friends. Are you one of them? If not, jump on board!
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