Crossing into the unknown...

So tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and for some reason the end of a year always makes me feel melancholy. Although that could also have something to do with the fact that mom and dad left today, my new condo is still cluttered and a mess, and it's a gray, rainy Chicago day (yes, RAINY -- it's about 42 degrees today, instead of the necessary-for-snow 32 degrees I'd rather have...). Tomorrow is actually supposed to be 55 -- I'll be pulling my swimsuit out of whatever box it's packed in and walking a few blocks to the lake...

I tend to be a melancholy person to begin with -- always reflective and analytical and second-guessing every little part of my life... but throw in the end of a year, and I get super-philosophical and metaphorical... like a pretentious artist who works in some sort of arbitrary medium that has nothing whatsoever to do with the ideas supposedly presented... (Look! I taped together a windshield wiper and twenty-five cupcake wrappers! It's a commentary on the state of political affairs in Kuwait... if you don't get it, you've obviously never read Kafka or Aristotle or Tolstoy, and you probably think cupcake wrappers are used to hold cupcakes. Closed-minded simpletons...)

But I guess it's only natural to be reflective at the end of a year -- to think about what has happened, and what sorts of goals and wishes were unmet, and what was accomplished... to think about the people who are in your life... who you miss and wish you could see more often... who you love... who you can't stand and wish would just go away... yeah, you know who you are. (Just kidding about that... I don't think I know anyone who I wish would go away... :))

So what can I say about 2010? It was an interesting year. If I had to sum it up in one word, I believe that word would be "stressed." In fact, there were at least a couple months -- when we were unsure of what was going on, where we were headed, or what we should be planning for -- when I felt stressed out 24/7. And I mean I literally felt stressed out while I was sleeping... I'm serious... I don't even know how that can happen, but apparently it can... Other 2010 "stuff":

*I somehow managed to master my rise early/work/exercise/cook/clean/head to bed early schedule... yet never quite managed to figure out how to squeeze in blog posts...

*We lost our sweet little Allegro and Echo, which was so hard... if they taught me anything, it's that unconditional love can easily be found wrapped in fluffy fur. And then we added our rambunctious new family member Riff, who has been unconditionally crazy since we got him (and I can't imagine it any other way :)). Never a dull moment with that cat...

*We traveled to Las Vegas, and we traveled to Hawaii, which was a lovely break from my day-to-day routine. (Actually, Hawaii would be a lovely break from just about anything...)

*Eric and Rachel got married, and we had an awesome time hanging out in Las Vegas with friends and family. (By the way E & R -- we all voted, and it's unanimous: every year on your anniversary, we're all heading back to Vegas... :))

*We moved to Chicago (in case anyone hasn't been paying attention)! And then we moved AGAIN, which has added more stress to the Year of Constant Stress. But I will say this: I am IN LOVE with the view from my condo right now. There may be boxes everywhere and an uncertainty as to where most of the remaining items in this place will be stored, but every morning when I wake up, I look outside my floor to ceiling windows and think, "that is SO COOL..." :) It's also cool that we can just walk down the street to the grocery store and pick up what we need for dinner... or walk down the street to eat dinner at a restaurant... or walk down the street to get coffee... (do you see a pattern?? I really like all the walking... :)).

And now I'm off to eat a baked potato and wax poetic to crazy Riff about the looming new year... We're off into the unknown...