Ring out the old, ring in the new

The end of the year is always a time for reflection, a time for considering what has been and our hopes for what the new year will bring. The end of this year is particularly poignant for me for a number of reasons. 2009 was one of the best, and certainly most eventful, years of my life, highlighted of course by our wedding and the beginning of the shared adventure that is married life. 2010 brings a lot of changes, some of them scary. Just this morning I said good bye to one of my closest friends at work, a woman who has been a mentor and guide for me for my whole career. She is off to a well deserved retirement, but we will miss her dreadfully and the department will have a huge hole in it that it will be hard for anyone else to fill. Early in the new year Serdic will finish up at his job and become a full time student again. An exciting path for him, to be sure, and one I wholeheartedly support him starting on, but it's a big change for us, and a scary one.

This is also a particularly interesting year to look back, as it is the end of the first decade of the millenium. It is hard to believe that ten years ago tonight we were in the throes of Y2K panic (and what a bust that turned out to be!). The last ten years of my life have taken some interesting twists and turns, and if you had told that 23 year old me then where I would be in ten years, I wouldn't have believed you. I was on the verge of graduating from Queen's (being the class of '00 was kind of fun, I will admit), with no idea where I was going or what I would be doing when I got there. I had no idea I would become a librarian, and certainly not that I would end up in Ottawa working for the most prestigious library in the country. I didn't know I would be in Ottawa at all. I definitely didn't know that ten years after leaving my hometown I would meet and marry a boy from that hometown, and find more happiness with him than I knew was possible. There were so many good things in store, not only for me but for members of my family (living in other countries, Olympic medals, trips and jobs and awards and weddings and all kinds of things) and I'm glad I didn't know they were all coming, but have been able to enjoy the ride and each surprise and celebration as it comes. The last decade has brought some amazing people into my life, not just Serdic and his family, but so many dear friends who have become so special to me.

There was loss and sadness, too. The greatest of these was of course the loss of my beloved Grandad and Grandma, and their absence is felt every day. Pets have died, friends have drifted away or moved. Things have changed and time marches on. Just yesterday I received the news that the father of a friend had died, and I will be part of the group singing at the funeral on Saturday. This is a friend who came and sang for Serdic and me at our wedding two months ago. Life and death, love and loss, happiness and grief ... at the end of the year it is appropriate to reflect on these things, and be thankful for all that we have received, and hopeful for what is to come.

I hope for more adventures for all my friends and family in 2010, and only good things and happiness for us all. Happy New Year, everyone.