Jackie’s Virtual Playground

I know, I’m very late with my end of year post, but christmas has been a very chaotic time for me.

So, as the title says, 2008 was the year from hell. We began the year trying to fight off creditors and prevent our house from being repossessed. Sadly by the end of the year we could do nothing to prevent it and lost our house. On top of this in November, having little other choice, we declared bankruptcy. By this time my husband was also unemployed. Having a very bad credit rating this also meant that finding a house to rent on the private market was out, so we applied for a council house. The local council seemed to delight in stretching this process, and thus our fear of homelessness, out as long as they possibly could.

Thankfully we were eventually given a house and it’s from a freshly painted living room in said house that I type this. It’s been an extremely stressful year, and I would certainly never volunteer for the mortgage ladder ever again. But we have a fresh start and are now finally able to start looking forward. Our lives currently aren’t perfect, or even comfortable (trying to live on benefits is a massive challenge in itself), but we’re certainly a lot happier than we’ve been in a long time.

There were some positives for me in 2008 - for one in May I got to see my lifetime idle in concert for the first time - Bruce Springsteen. I’m not one to go all gooey over celebrities, far from it, but this man is a saint. I’ve been to a fair few concerts during my lifetime but I’d never seen such energy and genuine passion radiate from one man on a stage before. It was truly spectacular and I hope I someday get the chance to see him again.

And of course the one constant positive in my life is my daughter. She turned 15 this year and it’s fantastic to see her blossom. She’s felt the stress just like the rest of the family but somehow has still managed to stay on top of things at school and do well. She’s now in the process of choosing a college and it’s great to see her enthusiasm about the future.

So all in all, 2008 was far from great, but despite the constant economic gloom and doom being shoved down our throats every day I have high hopes for 2009. I’m even in the mood for some blogging, that has to be a good sign, right? :)