A Letter to the Year

Dear 2009,

I just realized that you are on your way out the door in a few hours and thought that you might enjoy this little note as a memento to our times together the past 365 days. I know you're in a hurry right now, so I'll make it short.

Honestly, when you first got here, I don't think I remember much of you. I was still living in Pennsylvania at a job that wasn't fully satisfying my desires. Those days all blend into one. I think it was around February that things started to pick up. Some time in March, as you remember, my parents got back from Ghana safely. That started off a bit of a chain reaction to the rest of the year.

I guess one of the most important things happened in April of this year when I made the decision to end my employment at Pride Mobility, move back to Utah, and start graduate school. There was a lot of things that needed to happen in order to carry that out, though, so the next few months were filled with packing and closing up shop there... and carrying a secret for a while. Honestly, that was hard to carry that decision in secret for all those months! I wouldn't have had to keep it, except that my boss happened to go to church with me and I'm sure he wouldn't have liked to hear about it through that channel.

In May (or June... I can't remember) I was happy to get a visit from Greg and Sally for a day. It is always nice to see family, even if it is for a brief visit. We had a fantastic time seeing the sights of my neck of the woods and getting to go get Grandma's Pizza, some of my favorite.

In July, right as I was starting to really box things up, I finally decided to get my new computer, a Mac Pro. I had told myself that I wasn't going to get a new powerful workstation if I wasn't going to use it, and finally graduate school allowed me the opportunity to delve into the funds and purchase one. It has been a significant investment in a powerful tool and I am happy to have it. I also got my first iPod Touch, which replaced my Franklin Planner, oddly enough. It has been an interesting year for technology (especially that whole episode of my PowerMac G5 dying literally 2 minutes after I ordered the Mac Pro).

I recently spoke with Col, my former boss at Pride Mobility, and he still thinks I was crazy to give up a salary and go back to school. I'll tell you, though, I was kind of nervous in giving him my notice (especially since I chose to do it, oddly enough, on the same day he was doing our reviews and giving us our raises for the year). However, I knew it was the right decision at the right time and was able to leave the company on good terms. It was hard to say goodbye to the wonderful people I knew out in Pennsylvania and the good friendships I had made, but, as you very well know, life never stays the same.

August started out very interesting with a cross-country move. Bless the hearts of my parents, they helped me carry all my junk across the midwest and back into Utah. Three days crammed into the front cab of a 26 foot moving van was not a fun experience, but we survived and everything moved like clockwork. Of course, you know all of the fiasco of trying to find a job and new place to live somewhere in Utah, but that, oddly enough, wound up working out in the end as well.

School started up this fall and it took a few weeks to get into the groove of things, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. I also wound up getting good grades and getting some good criticism from my professors. I just hope I can keep it up and get even better as time goes on.

It has been fun to be back in Provo around people of my same religion and age. The church ward I attend is one of my favorites that I have been in and I have found my niche in it. Being called to be in the activities committee was a much welcomed experience compared to being in the bishopric, although I think the spiritual challenges are fewer and far between here. Honestly, it feels like I'm fighting complacency in my testimony more than I am combatting temptation. I don't know if that makes sense, but we both know that in the coming years I will be moving out of Utah.

Well, it's almost time for you to leave, so let me end this here. Thanks for sticking around for the past 365 days. You've been much better to me than 2008 was (man, what a jerk...). I hear that your replacement is an interesting fellow, fresh and new to the job. Hopefully he'll be able to pull it off like a pro. Enjoy retirement. I hear they have lots of shuffleboard and bingo where you are going. Give my regards to 2007 and 2003.

Sincerely,

-Brad Reynolds