Out with the old; In with the new

This year's Christmas was filled with both the usual and the unexpected. Time with family, many presents, too much food, and a lot of sightseeing marked our last Christmas in the US for a while. And of course, our holiday break has been extended by a day with the death of former President Ford. My family was able to travel to Washington to spend Christmas and the days surrounding the holiday with us. Christmas Day itself was fairly traditional (including the screening of Rocky Balboa that evening), but the rest of their visit was filled with things unique to Washington, DC. We had tickets to Christmas Eve service at the National Cathedral, which was beautiful and awe-inspiring. And I made two trips to the National Mall (one with my brother and his girlfriend; one with my parents) to visit the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial. While all these sites were new to my family, the FDR Memorial was the only one that I had not visited yet. It is so interesting that I actually didn't mind visiting it twice in a week. Reading Roosevelt's public thoughts about war hit very close to home at this time. My family had all left Washington by the time the New Year arrived, but Shawn and I had the opportunity to mark the New Year in a unique way. Yesterday, we joined the 2-hour line of citizens to walk through the Capitol Rotunda to see Gerald Ford lying in State. After the wait in line, the actual walk-through was a somber and overwhelming event. They kept the public moving through rather quickly, so there wasn't really much time to reflect. As we entered the room, someone "important" must have been leaving, judging by all the camera flashes coming from the bleachers where the media was stationed. And 30 seconds later, we were out of the rotunda. Crazy. So, I don't make New Year's resolutions, but here are some things I'm looking forward to in 2007: 1. Finishing my job. Don't get me wrong - I've enjoyed it for the most part, but I'm looking forward to having some free time back. With all the knitting books and fabric my mom got me for Christmas, I have some projects I'm just itching to get started. 2. Finishing Russian classes. So this one has definitely been less than enjoyable for me at times. I know that it's a good exercise in dedication and hard work, but I'm still looking forward to being done. 3. Getting to Kyiv. If you could see my list of things to get done before we go, you would understand why I'm ready to just get there! 4. Figuring out what our life in Kyiv is going to be like. I know that it's the journey, not the destination and all that jazz, but there are still so many questions about living there. It's going to be fun experiencing everything the next year has to offer and getting settled in our new home.