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Entry bubble Closing the Chapter on 2008

By: Ginger | December 26, 2008 | Category: General

Girl writing in her 2008 journalAt the end of every year I try to take to take stock of how things went for me during the year. Some years it is a lovely trip down memory lane, full of positive happenings and feel-good events. Some years are relatively uneventful. This year, I don’t even want to do my year-end review. Yes, it was truly that bad.

This year has been marked with trauma and personal tragedy for me. I try not to wallow in self-pity. After all, 2008 has been filled with trauma for a lot of people. Many Americans lost businesses, homes, and possessions to natural disasters. Flooding, fires, and hurricanes threw many people into situations requiring them to be brave and cope as best they could.

Although my husband and I are in pretty good financial shape, 2008 was difficult for a lot of people. Businesses and financial institutions are suffering from the economic and banking crisis. The number of people losing their jobs, filing for bankruptcy and foreclosing on houses is increasing. 2008 saw the government trying to help stabilize both businesses and assist individuals. Mortgage assistance, a guide to avoiding foreclosure, hope for homeowners, and economic recovery websites may be helpful to you or someone you know struggling financially.

Politically, 2008 was a big year. Throughout the year we have watched and listened to the candidates telling us how they plan to reunite our country and restore stability to our economy. The voters spoke and now President-elect Barack Obama is getting ready to turn the page to our country’s next chapter.

There are many questions and hopes for 2009. Whether Republican, Democrat, or neither we should all stand together, shoulder to shoulder, as Americans. We need to pull together, because there are bound to be more natural disasters, more rocky financial times, and unforeseen bad stuff that can happen. If 2008 has taught us anything, we learned that fortunes or circumstances can turn on a dime. The only way we will get through bad times is to stay united and help each other.

Please share your memories and comments on 2008 and you hopes for 2009. Take care and I will see you in 2009.

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: 2008   ginger   new_year  

Comments (4):

blue comment bubble Posted by Abi on December 26, 2008 at 09:53 AM EST

I have a good memory in 2008, because for the 1st USA elected Black man to be a president.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Optimist on December 29, 2008 at 06:25 AM EST

As rough as 2008 has been on a lot of it i could have definitely been worse for most of us. As i look back i see a year of minor disasters in my own life. The bright side is, 2009 is bound to be better! Our governemnet has finally acknowledged the recession and taken steps to stem it, Consumer confidence is cautiously on the rise, and we are poised to start moving forward again.

All the best to you in the coming year. I hope it is not half as bad and more than twice as good as 2008 to you, Ginger. and to all the rest who are reading this.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Ginger on December 29, 2008 at 07:10 AM EST

Optimist, I agree. Let's move forward into 2009 with a positive attitude.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Donna on December 29, 2008 at 09:13 AM EST

Ginger, My condolences on your personal tragedies. While it is true that we all experience loss, it does not make your's any less difficult to survive. When our usual supports are compromised, optimism can be difficult to muster. In order for us to pull together there is a lot of healing that needs to be done. In order to assist this process, I can only hope that our leaders put honesty and integrity above other considerations so that we can begin to trust again in our government.

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