If I could take a vacation with any two people, I would choose Marie Antoinette and Ernest Hemingway.  While these two people are from very different eras, both would have a unique perspective (one from the ultra rich, the other from the bougeois) on France and how the world has changed.  I would enjoy visiting France and touring the Mediterranean with them.  We would drink coffee and eat baguettes in Paris and sun ourselves in Sicily.  I would love to hear about European history from Marie Antoinette and compare it to how things have changed with the beatnik generation – and even to now.

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This past holiday, I enjoyed seeing my parents and well as my inlaws in an extended break.  It was nice to be able to visit with them and eat lots of homemade food and find out the latest on what’s going on with all of our relatives.  Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s surrounded by loved ones makes all the travel during the holidays worth it.  Splitting two trips between 2.5 weeks is tough, though, especially as travel wasn’t all that easy and I had to spend a lot of time in airports.  Fortunately I wasn’t caught too much by the snow delays this year.

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In 2011, I’m looking forward to spending more time with family and friends.  While everything isn’t always peachy, I’ve come to appreciate being with my relatives and close friends much more, even if we’re not going out to pricey dinners.  Last year we started doing monthly potlucks at one of our friend’s homes, and it’s been an invaluable way to stay in touch and to stay connected.  With Facebook and Twitter and social media in general, we always have the ability to see snippets of what is going on in each other’s lives, but spending time together always trumps that as we can truly connect and share our challenges, successes, and frustrations.

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When I look back on 2010, I would say that what I liked best and what I liked least is focused on the White House and our government.  In the midst of economic and global crises, Barack Obama’s message of hope and change was truly inspiring, and his consistent and calm demeanor convinced me that he would be the one to help revitalize our country.  On the flip side, however, it’s taken a long time for that hope and change to come to fruition as bipartisan politics have stopped the healthcare bill and many others from being passed.  In the meantime, our economy has taken a while to improve, and jobless ratings continue to look dismal.  I still believe that change is possible, though have to realize that it’s going to take a lot longer than a year…or even ten years…for this to happen.

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