A look back on 2008

Gosh, so much has happened this year, I can't even begin to describe how I feel about it. But I'll give it a shot. To start, here's a brief look back on events in my life over the past year.

2008 started with a much needed night out with a friend. The first few months of 2008, were shaky, at best. I was going through a lot with friends, as well as work issues. I can't say that I made the best decisions in things I did, but at the time, I did what I thought needed to be done. I ended two friendships, one in February, one in March. The first may never be reconciled, as it was a permanent wound . The other, I'm slowly coming full circle again with. I'm hoping that forgiveness is making its way around as well, and we can continue to work on trust issues.

In May, the 12th to be exact, my friend Beth and I started on a weight loss journey. I don't think either of us expected it to go as far as it did, to totally flip our lives upside down. I'm not sure of what her exact numbers are, but together we've lost over 150 lbs. As of today I'm sitting at 78 lbs lost. Its been quite a roller coaster. We've had to deal with emotions coming up that we did not realize were hiding. We've both kicked each other's figurative bootys. We've struggled lots, but we've prevailed. And we enter this new year, with Beth within her range, and me slightly over half way to my goal.

I've had to take my child to the ER twice (once for a fever of 106, and once for stitches when he sliced his ankle on the bottom of our screen door). I rearranged my thinking on ADHD meds for kids, and my 4 year old is now on Strattera. And I must say, I'm happy with my decision, I think I did the best thing I could for him. He's doing really great on it at school, and he's thriving in PPCD. He loves it and is growing by leaps and bounds. Two steps forward, one step back, and ever moving forward. I'm so proud of my sweet boy!!!

Lets see what else. There have been some family members pass away this year, a great uncle, a 2nd cousin, another distant cousin. So its been a sad year for the Ragsdale clan, but we've had a birth - my cousin and his wife had a new baby in October. We got to see a black man get elected to become President this year, and even though I don't agree with his stance on things, you gotta admit, it's a good thing to break the color barrier in our presidential history. It leaves the door wide open for so much more to come. Now a black conservative president would freakin rock!

Its been a long year, lots has happened, but for me, it was a year of growing and becoming more secure in myself. So I guess, despite the trials, its been a good year. I've made lots of new friends, met new goals, and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2009 brings, and can't wait!

I pray that all of you have a blessed New Year, are able to reconcile 2008, and move onward with a fresh new look.

God bless.