The Year That Was

I can't believe the year is almost over (yea yea, you people in Malaysia are 13 hours ahead of us, I know). This time of the year, I'm sure I'm not the only one who reflects on what has happened in the preceding 12 months.

Much certainly has happened in 2011. For one, after much suffering and time being apart, my wife finally completed her program in nursing anesthesia. After 3 years of 2-hour commutes and weekdays apart, she pulled it off, graduated and joined a group in town. That was probably our high time; I remain so proud of her. Also, our dear Alli has grown so much this year, from sprouting little baby teeth, to learning to walk and then run (and now to climb down the stairs, much to my chagrin), so saying "More!" when she wants more to eat. It's so fun seeing her silly personally starting to show.

Yes, we have much to be thankful for in 2011. However, if I can take a moment to be selfish and ungrateful, taking a step back, 2011 has been a difficult year for many reasons. It has been a year of losses. And the most tragic, was my best friend losing his battle to esophageal cancer after a 4-year batttle that spanned his wedding, honeymoon and his fellowship training to be a cancer doctor. Though we knew that was coming from day 1, knowing this was stage 4 cancer, losing a dear friend is never easy. Especially at such a young age. Nonetheless, we count ourselves lucky that we were able to travel back to Malaysia to spend some time with him and his wife, shortly before he passed on.

And so, I think I'm ready to move on into 2012. Though we can never foresee what the year holds, I hope this year will have fewer tears for all of us.

Have a safe New Year's countdown, folks!