Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Decade That Was

December 31, 2009...11:59 pm...goodbye to the "decade that was". At least, that's how the local paper described "the '00s". The good and the bad. 9-11 and Osama bin Laden. "W" and Obama. The invasion of Iraq and Afganistan. The natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the man-made cleanup disaster afterwards. Enron and WorldCom fraud scandals, the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment brokerage house, and government bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Hmmm....seems we remember mostly the bad. It was also the beginning of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and "blogging". The decade when "being green" became politically correct, thanks in no small part to Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvient Truth". Maybe that is what we will remember most, the positive corrections that came out of the messes we made, like the phoenix arising from the ashes. I like to think that in the long term, we'll remember the new beginnings.

For me personally, the decade was a mixed bag. It was the decade my 17 year old son was killed...and the decade my wonderful friends rallied round me. The decade I turned 50, and 80 of my best friends showed up to help me celebrate my birthday. The decade I succumbed to severe depression and ended up in the looney bin...and the decade my sisters came to my rescue without hesitation.

It was the Decade of The Ups and Downs of Life...like every decade...the good, the bad, and the ugly, all mixed up together.

4 comments:

  1. I get it completely! Now we stand and look at the start of a new decade and realize that we will have the same result. When all is said and done, there will be highs and lows, unbelievable breakthroughs and gut wrenching tragedies. I guess it is how we make it through that defines us. I wish you all of the best in the new year!

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  2. After all that, you are out and about, functioning. Thank God for that!
    I saud ut before, I don't know how bad it must have been for you to lose a 17 yr old child.
    You are strong, and will become stronger. You are helping others when you talk about it.

    Secretia

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  3. Life will throw us in a lot of directions...and our true character comes out at those times! So glad to be a follower!

    ~WM

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  4. What a great post/essay/musing. I didn't have the opportunity to read any of the end-of-the-decade summations, so yours was a good reminder though most compelling of all was your own story and how artfully you expressed what life has dealt you.

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