My year in review

At the beginning of 2009, I had a just-1-year-old son and a job. I was looking forward to a Bermuda cruise in May and a new year filled with promise.

I got to go on my cruise, and we had a great time. But two months later, in July, I no longer had a job -- a casulty of a mass layoff. While I was traumatized at first, I've now come to see that it was a blessing. Because I end 2009 as a stay-at-home mom (known by the cool kids as a SAHM) who is enjoying her son and her newly slowed-down life.

Things aren't perfect, as they never are. I get bored. My brain occasionally feels like it's turning to mush. Adult conversations are few and far between. And there really aren't many decent-paying, part-time, work at home jobs for a writer/editor/journalist.

Still, if I could sum up 2009 in three words, it would be these: Work doesn't matter. Being unemployed gave me the freedom to travel to Florida when my uncle died suddenly and be there for my aunt and cousins. When my dad had a stroke right before Thanksgiving, I was able to drop everything and head to the hospital to be with my mom and brother. (My dad will make a full recovery.) And on a more frivolous note, shopping, Christmas or otherwise, was a helluva lot easier when you can go in the middle of the day with all your other laid-off comrades. My days are mine and Boo's. My work benefits the people who really matter: My family. Someday I will go back to work, of course. But for now, I'm mostly digging on the time off, which, when you have an almost-2-year-old (gasp!) and a house, isn't a whole lot of sitting around. But I'll take it. And Boo is loving it too.

Happy new year, and may 2010 bring you nothing but good things.

A Fool-ish New Year's Eve

M and I went back and forth about what to do for New Year's Eve. After all, last year we stayed home out of necessity -- I was six days away from giving birth and big as a house. My OB had put the kibosh on unnecessary trips, so that meant a December 31 with a bottle of sparkling grape juice, a fire in the fireplace and me falling asleep at 10 p.m. So this year, I put our New Year's plans in M's capable hands. He decided we should go out and that Boo would go to his grandparents'.

Since we had a snowstorm, and I am essentially a homebody, at first I argued. But then I decided to go along with it. We had tickets to see the Fools at the Bull Run in Shirley, and after all, they were nonrefundable. So we braved the crappy roads (after all, we had Bruce, M's SUV) and freezing cold and went.

I'm glad I went out last night.

In case you're not familiar with them, and I wasn't, the Fools are a comedy band. As M put it, they are like Weird Al but R-rated. They are awesomely funny, a great, tight band and a lot of raunchy fun. We had a ball. And now my son has horns and noisemakers to play with.

So as U2 said, all is quiet on New Year's Day. Happy 2009, all, and hope you had fun last night.