by Robyn Hall

Hey 2009:  Adios.  Sayonara.  Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.  Good bye and good riddance. 

Last year when I was writing this column, it was okay to joke about how depressing things had been in 2008.  The housing and financial crises were big news.  But there was at least hope in the air.  The new year, and the new administration, promised us change – change for the better. 

Well, I’m not laughing any more.  No one is.  2009 continued in the same vein as 2008 and in fact became worse, not just for me but for so many people.  The national disasters that struck in 2008 became a lot more personal this past year; we all know people who have lost their homes, their jobs, their marriages, their security, their health, or all of the above. 

If you look at the top news stories for 2009, they read like a list of plagues from the Bible:  the red spilleth over as GM, CIT, and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy; darkness covered the banks that closed, the homes that foreclosed, and the Bernie Madoff clients who were hosed; we suffered the pestilence of the swine flu; and the Angel of Death took away society’s kings – the King of pop Michael Jackson, King of pomp Ted Kennedy, even the King of pulp Dominick Dunne. 

In this time of despair, we have to find hope again.  While so many things are going wrong, it is time to remember what is right.  We have to find a reason to smile, to laugh, to look at the glass half full.

 So . . . On the 12th day after Christmas, I cherish thankfully:

-         12 months to count my blessings

-         11 more Project Runways

-         10 pounds that make me curvy

-         9 new found friends on Facebook

-         8 girls’ nights out to treasure

-         7 days until this year ends

-         6 -ty percent off sales

-         5  o’clock cocktails

-         a 4 legged best friend

-         the “3 hours stuck on a plane” rule

-         2 sons who still hug me, and

-         a husband who isn’t Tiger Woods!

  Here’s to a happy new year!  We deserve it.