So it goes

In past years I spent this time of year looking forward and wishing nice things for my friends. But this year has sucked so bad I thought I would air my grievances Festivus style.

2011 started out like most years for nearly the past decade. With me running into the chilly Atlantic Ocean via Coney Island with the Polar Bear club. The year was full of promise.

But then things started going sideways. We had all of these storms and it made it hard for Babik to come over to watch the kids. He was getting random small illnesses and me and Mrs.Gmibp had to take a day off here and there to cover. But so it goes.

The weather began to get better but then all of a sudden Babik was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly we were in emergency mode. He couldn't watch the kids and we'd need to get a sitter. The only way to afford that was moving back in with my mom.

Luckily there was space for us, but it needed a lot of work. I spent the next six weeks cleaning out, laying out cement and painting. I was pretty proud of how far the basement came. It went from dirty storage to a bright clean livable space.

Once we moved in we hired a nanny and that was going well until I was let go at work. The nanny was let go that day also. Was there things I could have done differently? Sure. But could they have done things differently. Yup.

Adjusting to living back at home was really tough. But we are dealing with it. It's hard losing some independence that you enjoyed for more than a decade.

I spent the early part of the summer shuttling people to doctors appointments in between trips to the park. Babik seemed to improve. The summer was great I took Nugget and Belushi all over the place. It was fun. But I was still drifting and aimless.

We blew a gasket in our car over the summer. We broke down on some highway in the Bronx. That was a screaming out to the heavens and asking why me moment. Over $7000 in repairs. Thankfully all covered by my warranty.

As the fall came, Babik got worse. Me and Mrs.Gmibp left our Oktoberfest bbq early when he was rushed back to the hospital. The next month or so consisted of picking up and dropping off at various hospitals. The diagnosis is still pretty grim.

And now here we are I'm prepping to swim at Coney Island tomorrow. And hoping that 2012 will be easier and better to me and my family.

There good moments this year like when Baby Bacon, Tamarind and Yoda Jr were born, Jakop and Christine's wedding and me and Mrs.Gmibp's 10th anniversary. But overall a crappy year.

Oh yeah there was the flood.