2006 In Review

I don't normally reassess each year but I was thinking about it this morning. My first impression was that it wasn't a very good year. But as I thought about it that wasn't entirely true. There were both good and bad things in the LPCards family and friends circle.

There were the very bad things.

• My "2nd father" Abe Ibrahim died this year. I haven't cried that hard since my grandmother died.


• Uncle Darryl died of complications from hip surgery. We didn't learn of his death for two months.


• Aunt Mary died the Sunday before Christmas. A melanoma had metastasized and attacked her liver. Again, the news did not arrive for several days.

There were some not so good things

• I haven't seen Dad all year. The last time I saw him was July 2005 when I visited Portland. We talk every weekend and it has become clear that he is quite lonely. I am definitely going to fly him back this year and take him to some Cardinals games. Maybe my brother and I can convince him to move back to Chicago


• The company I do work for was bought out. The purchase is still a work in progress but my time there is limited. It makes some long term planning (buying a condo) hard to do


• My brother lost his job in July and remains unemployed.


• We learned my friend Tom will be deployed to Kuwait next summer

None of that is all good. But there has been some good news and some very good news.

• My friends Suze and Niko have had their first child, Eleni, and everyone is healthy and happy. Their wedding is in just a couple of weeks.


• My very good friends Craig and Gretchen are expecting their first born just after the first of the year.


• Another very good friend, Craig's brother Laith, got engaged to a beautiful woman named Jill


• Another casual friend, Nikki, and her husband Chris are expecting a first child in the new year


• Several acquaintances I made last year during softball have developed into some very good friends.
  
  
  
  • Becky and Molly, affectionately known as The Twins
  
  
  • Joe
  
  
  • Mike and his girlfriend Karla
  
  
  • Tom - may he have a safe and short deployment
  
  
  • Niko of Suze and Niko fame.
    
  
  


• Oh yeah, and the Cardinals won the Series
  

It is so easy to remember the bad things in life and dwell upon them. They can weigh you down and become the entire focus of your life. At times that is the appropriate thing to do. One must mourn the loss of loved ones. But life will go on and we must stay with it. As much as I mourned the loss of Abe and my aunt and uncle, I also celebrate the new lifes entering this world and the new friendships that I have made. 2006 wasn't any worse or better than any other year. It was just a year. It is what we make of our lives that matter. We should cry when we must but we should celebrate the rest of the time.