Well, we’re almost there.  The world did not end this morning. 2012 is almost over.  Just a few more days and we can let the door shut behind it and ring in a new and, hopefully, better year.

It has, undoubtedly, not been the best 12 months on record for the Suri household.  My father-in-law died very unexpectedly in July, my grandmother (less unexpectedly, but with no less sadness) passed just a few days ago.  Sid and I have been sick off and on for nearly 2 months.  There was a hurricane, a vacation partially spent in a doctors office, and plenty of other, smaller annoyances.  This is all just to mention the unhappy things that have befallen my family.  Plenty of my friends have also had a particularly difficult year, too.

So, as much as I’m tempted to say good riddance to 2012, I think it’s also important not to let the bad overshadow the good.  This year wasn’t all tears and heartache.

Here are 7 things from 2012 that are worth celebrating and remembering.

1. My husband was offered (and accepted), along with every other member of his research lab, an amazing job at a brand new Microsoft Research facility right here in New York – one opened up just for them.  This definitely qualifies as 2012’s best.

2. We had two amazing (dare I even say “magical”?) trips this year – one to Napa back in January and one to Spain in May – that I will remember forever.  We also traveled to France with my family this year, and I’m fully cognizant of how lucky we are (in so many ways) to be able to take these kinds of trips.

3. I got to spend my friend Melania’s 40th birthday with her, celebrating in serious style in her adopted home of London.  She is one of my dearest, oldest friends and we don’t see each other nearly often enough, so this was pretty great.

4. Though it wasn’t always easy, I spent a long weekend in June with my brother-in-law helping him take care of my two nieces while my sister took a safari in Africa with our mom.  I don’t always get to hang out with just Jeff or spend such hands-on time with the girls.  It was fun, and I came away with a new-found respect for how much work parenting is!

5. I got offered (and accepted) a temporary full-time teaching position for the spring semester.  More work, but more money — and, in a profession where “no” is so much more common than “yes” (guess that applies to academia AND writing) it’s always nice to be chosen.

6. Sid and I have faced some real challenges this year, and we’ve come through them with our relationship even stronger than it was before.  Not that I needed any confirmation, but this year has shown me just how much I won the husband lottery 5 years when Sid proposed.  Whenever I hear this song, I think: damn straight.

7. Friends.  2012 has brought new friends into our lives and returned old ones to us.  It’s an old (but true) adage that going through hard times shows who your real friends are.  We have found ourselves rich in true friends, and I’m thankful for it.

So, though I won’t be sorry to see 2012 turn into 2013, there’s still plenty to be grateful for.  Not the least of which is that I’ve finished submitting my grades and a plane is waiting to carry Sid and I out to Seattle for Christmas with my family.

So, entertain me while I sit at the airport and tell me what YOU are grateful for about 2012.  Share some happy thoughts in comments and maybe, just maybe, I’ll share my figgy pudding!