I’m finally getting around to post my “end of the year” reflections. Hey it is still within the first week of the year, so it still counts. Overall 2009 was a great year with a few upsets. We saw the inauguration of President Obama, and a pretty intense first few months of his administration. While he started off well, Obama’s attempts to “play nice” with the republicans did affect his ability to get much of his agenda completed, or started. Hopefully 2010 will be a better year for the President.
In March, Chris and I celebrated our tenth anniversary together. Both of us would agree that it has not been an easy ten-years, but it definitely has been worth it.
In May, Chris and I travelled to Australia with our best friends, Bobby and Ian. We made the trek to Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and then finally Queensland (where my mother and sister). It was the first time that I’d been home in over nine years, and I was amazed at how much it had changed. I wished I had blogged more while I was over there, and while I have a load of notes from the trip, I didn’t end up putting these online.
We continue to do our camping trips with a normal mix of 8 people, and seven dogs. These trips continue to be the highlights of our years, and is a wonderful opportunity to hang out with friends and relaxing. Once again, we went to Beaver’s Bend twice (or near it), and found a new cabin that may be our preferred home when doing future trips. This year we combined the Easter and Halloween breaks for both trips.
October saw Chris and I, along with Bobby, Ian and Layton heading up to Washington D.C. for the National Equality March. It was an amazing experience, and one that I will remember for a very long time. The last time I was in Washington D.C. was in 1999, and I can say that the city has changed a huge amount in that time … for the better. The march itself was so much larger than anyone could have expected, and while there were a lot of speakers, each one offered something to inspire the crowd to go back to their towns and cities and work towards full equality for the GLBT community.
Throughout the year, Chris and I meet with our Little Brother, Trey. We have both been trying to keep our blog up to date with all the activities that we have done with him. We continue to have a great time with each other, and have managed to do some remarkable things during 2009. Rather than repeat them here, you are welcome to go over to our Two Bigs site and check things out. One of the nice surprises of the year was winning the Collin County Regional Bigs of the Year (the first gay couple to win this award from what I am told).
On a sadder note, the year was not all good news.
Over in my home, the worst bushfires in Australian history ravaged much of Victoria and other parts of the country. This was made more personal given the area that was most severely affected was very close to my hometown that I grew up in. While over in Australia, we got to see a lot of the damage (from a distance), and felt very sad for all the lives that were lost, along with all the animals that were killed or injured.
In March, Chris and I were shocked at the news that our good friend Duncan died. We learnt that he had a relapse with his cancer, and it was discovered too late. We both were in shock for a few days, and still miss his updates that we used to get from time to time. Fruitbat appears to be continuing to recover from this tragic loss, and thankfully Chris has been over to visit with him during the year (it seems I got this wrong).
The year had a busy ending, and both of us were kept really busy. It was great to unwind for a short time at Chris’s parents in East Texas to reboot. Our end of year New Years Eve Party was another success, and a great way to end the year.
I’m sure that I have forgotten many things that happened during the year, and that will reinforce my need to blog more often. I will blog more often. I will blog more often …