i spent the last part of two thousand eleven and the first few days of two thousand twelve in the great city of san diego. i had several friends join me for this little vacation to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. one of the many things we did on our trip was eat together. the most enjoyable of our eating experiences was a place in little italy called buon appetito. the atmosphere was perfect, the service was some of the best in san diego, and the food was fantastic. we sat around the table laughing, eating wonderful italian food, and retelling stories from the night before. during the course of the evening one of the girls asked what our high and low of the year was. a couple people spoke up and then conversation turned to some other topic. the question stuck with me the rest of our trip.
i personally have had quite the year in two thousand eleven. there were so many highs. i got a new job, became an uncle for the first time, got to see my cousin marry the love of his life, spent time in boston, and was there when my sister said yes to her boyfriend’s proposal of marriage. there are many more beyond these mentioned. it was a year filled with more highlights than i deserved. there were plenty of lows as well. the passing of friends, people moving away, struggling with a terrible work environment, and heartbreak. to say the least the past year was one amazing ride. the highlight of my trip to san diego was our dinner at buon appetito. it will be the memory that stays with me when the others begin to fade. this memory stands out because of a moment. everyone was talking, eating, and laughing (some were mixing two of those actions at a time). looking at the people around me i knew i had been blessed. though all of our experiences this past year were unique to each of us we could share in each others moments. many of us at the table had experienced the pain of heartbreak, the joy of new life, and relief of laughter when laughing was the only thing left to do. my community of friends is vast and this past year is marked with friendships as the exclamation point to every high and low. my friends around the table that night were just a sampling of the community of people God has surrounded me with. that moment of realization during dinner was the high point of my trip to san diego and it will be how i describe my two thousand eleven. buon appetito means enjoy your meal. food is good but what makes it a meal is sharing it with someone or someones. life works the same way. life is good but life becomes great when we share it. i’m beyond blessed to have such amazing family and friends who share in my life and let me be apart of theirs. two thousand eleven was an incredible year but i have no doubts that God has an awesome year planned for me. here’s to the year past and to the year yet to come!
