

I finally hugged new friends I'd met online.

Lord, did I travel! 6,000 miles overall in 2009. Why? Because I am my mother's child and pay-forwards are a bitch. I sat through school music programs and embarrassed my kids by taking hoards of pictures. I snuggled with my kids, my husband and my pets. I stood next to a childhood classmate and watched him cry as Toby Keith sang about him and the hundreds of thousands of other American Soldiers fighting for our country. I camped out in 20° temps to be one of the first people in line for concert tickets. I caught a killer sale at Dillards, discovered a fantastic new author whom I adore and threw a couple of birthday parties for my kids.

The early months of 2009 were quiet and unobtrusive, for the most part. You may even find yourself in some of the pictures. Some of the pictures may make sense to you, some may not. I've been very fortunate this year to have preserved my 2009 in pictures. As the year winds to a close, we all tend to think "Where has this past year gone? What do I have to show for it?" and more times than not, we struggle to remember what has happened to us.
