Hitting the annual RESET button

So the new year is a couple of days old, and I'm looking back at the things that happened in 2008. There were ups and downs in what can only be called the wildest year-long rollercoaster ride of my 41 years (well, at least the last six months of it were). I'd had other years which where I had ups as high as this one... Many were higher than 2008's highs. I've never had a year with a low as crushing as the ones that I'd had this year.

I won't go into too much detail on the low points. I'll just say that there were people who supported me during those lows that helped me get to the point I am now. The coaster is still running, but at least for 2009, the ride appears to be more like the coasters in the kiddie section of the park and not like a 365-day version of Hersheypark's Fahrenheit. God only knows where I'd be without the help of people like my parents, John, RAC, MMz, Alice, and my newest dear good friend, Amy (not to mention a good doctor here in CoSpgs and my therapist, Kaye). There are others who helped me through some of the more "exciting" spots, whom I won't name for privacy reasons. There are so many others, too, who deserve credit, but I will miss some if I try to name them all. You know who you are, though... And I owe you a huge debt for it.

There were changes... My marital status and home location are the two big ones. After a long illness, my marriage died. As I posted previously, the illness and our inability to fix it lay very much on my shoulders. I wish there were some way I could make even a little bit of that up to my wife. Maybe as the years go by and the pain lessens, things will be better for both of us.

I've moved from a nice little house in Chester County, PA to a nice little two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs. I've got a good view of Pikes Peak and a fireplace and my place is walking distance from my "little" brother's digs. While none of those make up for being so far from my children, I do like those little comforts.

That move did prove one thing to me... As long as my brother and I live in Colorado Springs, if the Phillies are in the World Series, they will win. I base this on the fact that John and I lived here in 1980 when they won their first... Perhaps I should've spent some time out here in 1993, and maybe Joe Carter's shot would've been a swiging strike? One can only speculate.

What lies ahead? I don't know. I'm making new friends and starting a new life in my new home town. The ride is smoother over the past few weeks, and with any luck, we're now on the slowdown hills before the ride comes to a stop. I'm really hopeful that the only coasters I have to ride in 2009 are at DisneyWorld when I have some downtime during Lotusphere.