A cup of kindness yet

Every year I steal this from -- er, "am inspired by"-- a friend, who likes to reflect on all the "firsts" from the past year.

New experiences from 2008 include:

• A nephew -- He arrived in February, and I met him when he was two weeks old, making him the smallest baby I've ever held. Currently at 10 months, he is crawling around, can happily punch me on the nose, and has been hiding items in my suitcase. In June he got to meet his cousin, which was a cute family reunion.
  
  
• An internship -- Believe it or not, I'd never had one, in high school or college. Spent May through August at home in Seattle interning for a great state PAC and learning a lot about local campaigns. Which brings to mind...
  
  
• Doorbelling -- Tons of work experience in legislative affairs and political advocacy, but none on electoral campaigns and strategy. I went doorbelling for candidates for the first time, something I was absolutely terrified to do for a candidate (the only other time I'd done it was in '01 for an environmental nonprofit, with bad experiences.)
  
  
• Picking a winner in the presidential primary (and the general!) Let's just say the people I voted for in the '00 and '04 primaries didn't make it past Super Tuesday, and I had no luck in the general elections in those years either.
  
  
• A white Christmas! A real one, with about 8" of snow! Turns out the mere dusting of snow about 18 years ago pales in comparison to Seattle's recent "Snowpocalypse."
  

Overall, 2008 was a good year. It definitely had its share of drama, but hopefully I can learn and grow from all that. And, as always, every New Year's reflection, I'm humbled by the fact that I'm surrounded by so many wonderful friends and family who continue to inspire me.

Life is boundless, bittersweet, beautiful. Here's to 2009!