Regrets

It has been a long time since I last posted something on my blog. I have been busy, for both good and bad reasons. Good because I have been spending a lot of time with someone special, and bad because I started a new job four months ago that has taken up too much of my time, and is slowly eating away at my soul (if you would allow me to be a little melodramatic).

So, in a few days we will mark the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. Friends of mine have this excellent tradition of writing down, reading aloud and then burning our most significant regrets of the past year. Everyone gets three regrets. Last year, I participated in this tradition for the first time, and found it extremely cathartic and just generally a lot of fun (mostly because of the company - these friends are particularly funny and warm).

As I think about what my regrets for this year, I am happy to say that I am having a bit of difficulty.

The obvious regret is that I regret taking this job. Not so much because of the long hours, but more because one of the reasons for deciding to let my dog live with his other "parent" was the time my work was taking away from him. This Christmas was the first Christmas without him in 8 years, and I really missed him. I know he is happy in his new home, and that his other "parent" is an excellent "parent", but selfishly, he is a joy to have around and I missed him. There was nothing for him from me to chew on under the tree this year....and there were no long walks in the snow to walk off the big dinners.

I have had a lot of blessings this year and I am very thankful for them, so I think I will keep my regrets this year to just the one, because any other meager regret that I may have would only take away from the value of this first one.