Closing doors, opening windows

It’s nearly the end of the year and, I must say, I’m rather looking forward to 2008.

I can’t say I’m sad to see 2007 go. It hasn’t been the nicest year. But, despite the hardships of the last 12 months, there have been blessings mixed in there as well.

This year saw the passing of Cassandra, my beloved rabbit and furry companion for five years. As saddened as I was by her death, Rebecca and I welcomed Slim Jim and Teyla into our home.

The house had some issues in 2007. There was the gas leak back in February — the one that I caught only because I was doing laundry at two o’clock in the morning after a day-long "Lord of the Rings" marathon. There was the ticking-time bomb otherwise known as my water heater which, fortunately, was able to be fixed by friends. And, of course, there was the break-in. We don’t need to rehash the suckiness that was the violation of my home and the loss of my iBook but I can’t ignore the good that eventually came out of the ordeal.

Hedwig had her share of difficulties. My faithful Ford sedan has had a lot of (relatively costly) work done since last January. She had some original parts, that apparently aren’t meant to last more than 100,000 miles, replaced as well as a few few odd items like new brakes, tires, coolant reservoir and oxygen sensors. The good news is that most of this routine stuff that most cars experience should be caught up now and we won’t need anything for a while again.

As we say goodbye to 2007 in a couple of hours, I’m looking forward to 2008 and the wonders it will bring. I have high hopes for the coming year, full of promise and possibility and opportunity.