I hear her now . . .

It’s the fat lady and she is singing . . . it is over folks, bye-bye 2009! It was a year that was sweet & sour, had its good, it’s great, and was peppered with a little blah, some blech, and a couple “What the crap?” times. I suppose in this respect 2009 wasn’t much different from each year that came before. The specifics of the good, great, blah, blech, and holy crap make each year unique and worth remembering.

Alex the Great! 2009 brought the daughter’s graduation from High School and a couple months later her departure to Utah to embark on her college adventure and adult life (well as close as you get at 18, calling home for money and craving care packages.) So far so good, she passed all her classes and made it home for the holidays. Hmmmmm . . . now that I am thinking about this I suddenly realize that before she arrived in Arizona I had a few measly bucks and now that she is here we are buck-less!!! Proof once again that children have no shame and will take your last buck or at least use it to buy Pickles or Cheez-its!

It turned out to be a very Good thing for my family that I was given the “unique work offer” (ultimatum) in my Idaho position and subsequently applied for and accepted a position in Phoenix. This transition has taught me that if I had to survive on only what could fit into three suitcases and six boxes I could make it. Urban camping is what I called it . . . other people might have likened me to a squatter.

Much of this year was just Blah, for me anyway, like the over publicized death of Michael Jackson. This is my opinion people if you are a Jackson-a-holic, moonwalker or whatever his followers are called do not get all weird on me. Yes, death is sad and as you know, I still have some serious questions before I am ready but there were people who died this year that had greater impact on me as a mom, a woman and a consumer. As a mom I felt horrible for the Travoltas who lost their son Jett, as a woman the loss of Patrick Swayze struck me hard, he was Johnny, “the” Johnny, in Dirty Dancing, a movie who helped shape me (and many of my friends) into who we are today. He is also, why I will ALWAYS carry a watermelon when asked. I want to end up at a kick ass dance party like that! Finally as a consumer, I will miss Billy Mays. I am marketing major, a lover of shopping, and infomercials are unendingly fascinating for me. Also Blah is the craziness over the H1N1 virus, swine flu. Actually too blah to even blog much about.

Blech (this is really more of a sound than a word) sums up things like the housing market, the stock market, rising prices at the local market. Blech is for all the topics that when mentioned by someone else you want to just make the noise . . . blech!!! Gas prices are still in this category as is unemployment. I am sure you can think of a lot more but since they are so incredibly disgusting and make my stomach churn, I am done talking about them.

There are always events, moments, or weirdness in a year when the only appropriate reaction is to say, “Holy Crap!” 2009 brought us the first African American President. Of course in the end either option would have been Holy Crap choices since the other option came with a woman in the passenger seat. Holy Crap does not necessarily mean bad. In this instance, I just didn’t think our country would do either in my lifetime. Maybe the only reason it happened is because it was going to be one or the other and the crazy lady from Alaska just scared the hell out of people. I am a Republican and I was all for picking out a dog with the Obamas instead of shooting Moose and other wild creatures with Mountain Mama! The Holy Crap title also goes to the economy as a whole and who gets bailed out (millionaires) and who does not (minimum wageaires.) There are others in this category too, stinky, smelly, holy crap that really shouldn’t be swept under the rug but it will be . . . we should accept it and move on. Our world has a big rug that is getting so much holy crap shoved under it we are going to put pine trees on it soon and pray for snow so we can ski it! I am only one person though . . . and I am too broke to even go green.

2009 . . . love it or hate it, you have to take it for what it was. 2009 was 365 days that each of us got to choose how we wanted to live, what stupidity we would put up with from others, what level of love we would give and to whom, and how much time we would spend watching reality TV. I am happy to report that my year was mostly sweet with just enough sour to make it interesting and make me get off my butt, stop watching the reality TV, do something about the stupidity of others and refocus the negative energy into love for my family, friends and myself instead. Today is the ending of 365 days for better or for worse, they were what we all made them. Tomorrow is your chance to do it differently, 365 fresh new days all ending in 2010 . . . so don’t get to the end of next year just to wonder what the hell happened to you once again . . . vow to do different, be better, live richer, choke the stupid people, do something . . . do anything . . . if you need help ask. (Side note: I was born into the Belt family; I am good at choking.)

Oh . . . I hear her . . . got to go, she is singing my song!!!