...I guess, for lack of a better term, this is going to be the "Year in Review" post. It's been a tangled up year, that's for sure. I don't think I've had a year with as much change and unsettled-ness in a long time.

A moved into the realm of double digit ages, and she did so kicking, screaming, and in denial for the first couple of weeks. She's had a rough year when you look at the alleged trauma of turning 10, going through a substitute teacher who didn't know what she was doing during the Mission Project and the Science fair, the Mission Project itself (which was enough to give us all fits), realizing that she'll be switching schools and none of her friends would be going to her new school, walking to and from school every day, and participating in cross-country. She's had a good year too because she's managed to keep her grades up, played a season of baseball, continued to stay in touch with her old friends, made new friends, and participated in cross-country. Yes, I know I mentioned that twice. She seems to be doing fine now... life moves on.

B is still moving right along, and really not all that much happened to her this year. She played baseball, kept her grades up, dealt with a thorn in her side in her classroom, and stayed the same cuddlesome Boo that she's always been, which has been particularly helpful to me in dealing with A and my own crap.

Ah, my own crap. I've lost one respected manager to gain another who is of the 'ole boys club, and then got shuffled to a clueless doorknob who has never managed people before. Nice guy, terrible manager. I think he's finally figured me out - leave me alone and I'll get my work done. Checking in with me isn't nearly necessary. Decided to look for a new job, had a interview at eBay and didn't get the job. Didn't really get any other interviews for anything that I'd be remotely qualified for or interested in. I've slowed down at work to the point where my productivity is half what it was, and he thinks I'm wonderful (else he's blowing smoke up my arse). Got a raise. Still going to look for a new job, just not quite as aggressively as I was before, since I'm not as miserable as I was. I watched two wonderful co-workers leave the company; one by his own choice, the other by the company's choice. Waited for the axe to fall on myself but it didn't happen.

On the personal side of things, DH is still wonderful and I've caught you up on the kids. I made it through a year without my loved doggie. My friends pulled closer together as a result of some actions and incidents, and some friends pulled away as a result of some actions and incidents. I left Curves and joined a new gym and it's better for me. I picked up a crochet hook and finished a scarf instead of cross-stitching the end of the year away. My so-called mother pulled the victim card again, and the thing that calls itself my father screamed obscenities at me over the phone the next day. I refused to speak to them again after having a minor breakdown in the parking lot of my workplace in the middle of the day - I deal with them as little as possible on the phone now so that they can talk to the kids. Life moves on.

In the stitching world we lost two bright lights - edithinalaska and lauraleigh. *sigh* One was in failing health; the other just left us too soon. February wasn't the blow up month that it usually is, probably due to the death of lauraleigh. It was abundantly clear that we were fragmented across communities at that point, but somehow something just jelled back into place. I don't want to put a spin on it, or trivialize anything, but there is a sad truth to the statement that there's nothing like a tragedy to pull a community together.

I've shed more tears out of frustration, grief and utter desperate sadness this year than I have in the 5 years past - combined. No, I'm not depressed - it was just a hard year. I want 2007 to be filled with more laughing and smiling than I've done in the last 5 years combined. Life *will* move on.

Elsewhere in the world we lost some talented entertainers, excellent politicians, and a tyrannical dictator who was executed for his crimes. I support capital punishment, but I don't know that punishing a crime with a method of execution that was rather... criminal in and of itself was the right thing to do. Yet, killing another individual is the same no matter what method is used... so that runs me 'round in circles. Yes, I'm glad he's gone, I'm just not sure I agree with the methods used to accomplish that task.

Life moves on. No matter what happens in your universe, be it wonderful or tragic or somewhere inbetween, life inevitably moves on. I think that's because life is intertwined with time, and you can't stop time no matter how hard you try. You can't go back and change anything either - time does not allow for do-overs, unless you have a TARDIS, and unfortunately I don't have one at my disposal, and neither does anyone else I know. At least I don't think I know any displaced Time Lords...

...but just in case I do, could you help me with something from 1989?