2009- it was a VERY good year

This was a good year.

Sara graduated Cum Laude from GW and I was so proud of her; she worked hard and the Cum Laude was unexpected and we found out on the way to the graduation ceremony.

It was such a thrill.

Sara graduating from college is really the highlight of the year. All of high school, the painful transition to college and everything before, in between and after- this is the culmination of my

responsibility as a parent- to provide my daughter

with the tools to be able to deal with life. We should never take

these things for granted and I consider myself very fortunate to have seen this day in May.

The graduation weekend was great- Jeff and Shawna came in, my sisters joined, the Plotkins were in

attendance and Reinica and Riva also joined. It was fantastic.

Barbara celebrated her 60th birthday and Sara did a great job organizing the festivities. Jeff, Mike, Judi and Hal and the kids, Mark and Lisa and the kids, Lori and Amos and Adam, the

Plotkins, and my sisters- they all came in to celebrate. The unexpected and pleasant surprise was to have Rochelle and Jeff fly in from California. It was a fun weekend where Barbara was really happy and enjoyed herself and her

company. Cuba Libre with her friends was great and having everybody around made it a very special weekend for Barbara.

Her van died during the weekend - my fault for getting it into, literally, deep water and, on top of the weekend, she got a brand new car - well deserved after 11 years with a minivan!

We had the great pleasure of having Shawna, Jeff and Olivia visit us in November - the little girl is beautiful! A great thing to be grateful for in 2009.

I was honored when Jonah Wasserman had his bris in February, carrying him for the circumcision. I am glad that it was Laura's dad that actually held him during the actual event.

It was a year of significant and impressive celebrations. After Barbara's birthday, we had Roberto's in Budapest- for us via Prague, later a great weekend celebrating Tuti's in Boston and completing

the cycle, the celebration of Moise's 80th in Bogotá where the Zachmann siblings had a very enjoyable long weekend - we were able to spend some time with Daniel and Miriam.

In June, I also had my 40th High School Reunion in Bogotá, which was also wonderful. For not having friends, I enjoy my old classmates and they seem to appreciate me also. Then again, when I tried to see them again in December, I had a very limited response. Well, such is life...

This was a much better year for me from a health perspective. I had a follow up procedure for my sinus area mass, which was successful and the AVM follow ups have shown that it has decrease in size. No other side effects.

For Barbara, this year was not that great- specially after the trip to Europe. Her anxiety and stress have come back and she has had no fun since then.

Hiking this year also gave me immense pleasure. The very high point was the trip with Daniel,

Leon and Georg to Ciudad Perdida. I had done 2 earlier trips to the area many years before- once to the peaks on the southern entrance with Andres Hernandez, Rodney Freeburn and James Kay, and once with Robby to Pueblito, on the coast by the Tairona Park; he had to be hauled out of the beach with after getting incredibly sunburnt (this was about 40 years ago!). Ciudad Perdida was then a myth and when it was finally found I really wanted to go; it seemed unattainable- initially because it was prohibited by the government and later because of the security situation in the area. But 2009 was the year.... It was more than worthwhile.

After 23 years of working for Wyeth, we were acquired by Pfizer. The announcement was made early in the year and the uncertainty has been significant; it has been an emotional roller coaster, and from a work perspective, it has been a lost year. The year ends with some uncertainty, but as the blind man said, "Amanecera y veremos".

This year I have been listening to classes on Jewish themes from the Learning Company. It has been very satisfying as it has opened a whole new world built around understanding many things that I took at face value and also raising fundamental questions of my beliefs and values.

Sara came back home and I take it as a gift. She will leave again but having her at home makes me very happy for the little time before she takes her next big step in Nursing School.

Yes, 2009 was a very good year...