FLASHBACK december 31, 2011

"should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind...should old acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne"
every january, the bk and i take a much needed trip to fort myers, florida. much needed because we've been cold for 3 months. and...more importantly...because we haven't seen moniebird and jimmy for 4 months. this year we go a little early. we arrive in time to celebrate moniebird's birthday, with a trip to her favorite restaurant (red lobster...she loves the garlic cheese bread), and to ring in the new year with the old timers. they throw quite a party. there are cheeses and cakes and meatballs and cookies and stuffed olives and dips and chips. there is beer and wine and cocktails and champagne. there are board games and cards. there is conversation and jokes and laughter. there is cheering and kisses after dick clark and ryan seacrest countdown to the new year.
FLASH FORWARD december 31, 2013
as we have every year before, the bk and i will wait until the last minute to decide what we will do. we may go out to our favorite bar. we may have friends come over for games and food and laughter. or we may simply stay in and quietly ring in 2013. whatever we do, we will reflect on what we saw and did in 2012. and what was that you ask? well...
we watched my sis in~law's sister make a miraculous recovery from a traumatic brain injury she suffered in a plane crash on december 28, 2011 (click here to read her version of events, as well as my sis in~law's and track her progress)...we started a new valentine's day tradition (the valentine's breakfast)...i got a new job and quit a mere 3 months later as the bk took a new job, within his company, that brought us back home...the bk gained a daughter in~law and my lil bro and family gained a puppy...the country survived an election that nearly divided the nation...we lost neil armstrong, whitney houston, etta james, dick clark, and a beastie boy...we saw "zombie" attacks and the manhunt and capture of "canadian psycho" luka magnotta...there were horrific mass shootings: the aurora, colorado movie theater; the sikh temple in oak creek, wisconsin; and, most recently, at sandy hook elementary school in connecticut...we watched america shine at the olympics...and the bk and i rejoiced as the osu buckeyes went undefeated, even though they were banned from playing in ANY bowl games...my niece turned 16 and got her license...the bk's daughter turned 18, meaning our collective kids are all adults...i started this blog AND got another job and my daddy decided to retire...and the entire world waited for an apocalypse that never came (stupid myans!)...
wherever you are...whatever you do...look back and remember 2012...what made you laugh? what made you cry? what made it a year to remember?