Happy New Year

Good morning. I caught the tail end of a piece on Morning Edition on my drive in today, and it inspired me to write a brief blog. It was a commentary on the ending of 2009 by an author named Ben Mattlin. He has a pretty intense story, which can be found along with the commentary here http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122066678 but suffice to say the one thing that stood out for me was his last few lines at the end of it.

"2009 wasn't anything special. The usual assortment of good and bad. But it was blessedly drama-free. And that was enough to make it a good year.

Sure, I hope for better in the new year.

But even if I don't get that, I'll still say I'm lucky. Because sometimes, just normal is good enough."

Normal. A normal year. What would a normal 2010 look like for me? Husband being home is not, sadly, normal. Challenges with the kids is normal. Craziness with work is normal. Family gatherings and general mayhem is normal. Struggles with money is normal. Change, change, change.... normal, normal, normal.

So perhaps I would wish for a relatively drama-free 2010. Fewer trips to the emergency room. Fewer "oh crap why did I say that" moments. More quiet time.

Drama free. What a concept. I like it.