Where am I?

Here it is, the end of another Thanksgiving weekend. The year is nearly over and I am looking back at it to try to figure out what kind of a year it has been.

Back in January, I "celebrated" two years since my job was outsourced and I had been looking for a new one. My unemployment benefits completely ran out, so it seemed even more important that I find work. However, I would be 58 years old throughout most of 2011 and not many employers were hiring people in my situation - very experienced (usually means more expensive) and so close to retirement.

But I continued looking. I spent most of the day at home, when I didn't have chores that needed to be done outside of the house. I felt guilty if I went out and did something that was for my enjoyment. Even going to a movie felt wrong. I found myself getting more and more depressed and anxious, and there was much tension in the house.

There were good things that helped however, and my daughter's wedding over the summer was certainly a high point of the year. There were the plans to make, and although my daughter handled most of that, it was very exciting as we approached the day of the wedding.

Of course, watching my grandtwins growing up has also be a highlight of this year, as it will for many years to come. They have reached the stage in which they are no longer babies, but little boys - and all the things that come with being two year olds. 

Perhaps, however, the thing that has gone the longest way in helping me was going back to an old interest, photography. Although I never stopped taking pictures over the years, it had been decades since I actually took photos for their own sake. I have returned to that, and learning what changes have happened in the field since my last ventures in the film photography era. Digital technology has changed many aspects of the art, while the basics have remained the same. There is is much for me to learn, and build upon all that I know. (You can have a look at some of what I have been doing lately on my photo blog, Gathered Images.)

Now we are heading into the final month of the year, and I seem to be in a better place ... at least most days. A month from now my wife and I will be visiting my daughter and son-in-law which, as you know, means we will be in Disney World.

Looking forward to the end of 2011 in the hopes that 2012 will have more high points than this past year - and expecting that it will.