A re-posting of the end of year email to everyone...

Dear Family, Friends, and Families of Friends,

Happy Holidays from Washington, DC!

I hope the coming year brings tidings of joy and the fulfillment of hopes and dreams.

Without further adieu, here is a brief rundown of my year.

For the first time in recent history, I did not leave the country at all this past year. I moved to DC in late August of 2006, exactly one year from when I arrived in Portugal. It seemed strange to me that I should launch such formative experiences on the same day, exactly one year removed from the other.
After hopping around a few jobs, I have finally found a good place with the Boeing Company. I am beginning a new project with a team whose mission is to win contracts for border protection technology. I am planning on going back to school for an MBA (Masters of Business Administration for you Euro types) and should begin that program sometime next year.

I was only in DC for about a month when I met a wonderful young lady from Ohio. In late April, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In the beginning, I didn’t take the illness as seriously as I should have.

However, within a couple weeks though, I learned that only about 2% of pancreatic cancer patients survive within a 5 year period. It was sobering and frightening news to say the least. Jacqueline began chemotherapy treatments in May, and they continued until August when they informed her that the cancer had been eradicated. I was ecstatic, although it was difficult to shake the feeling that we had dodged a bullet. To all of those who knew, thank you so very much for your thoughts and prayers. Sadly, by now most of us have known someone around our age who has succumbed to the scourge of cancer. She is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. She is now doing quite well, though her immune system is still in a state of shock, so we have to take care not to get sick at all, as it will affect her much more so. All things considered, we are all so lucky, and I love her very much.

It has been an eventful year to say the least, but in truth it is only scratching the surface. At the beginning of each year, I create a list of goals to accomplish, and I can happily report that I have satisfied most of these goals. I have run two marathons, involving many more miles in training (not fun). I have jumped out of plane, learned to juggle, met an Iron Chef, wielded a jackhammer, batted .900 for a softball season, worked on Capitol Hill, and applied to the Freemasons. Jacqueline and I have been involved with our running club and even joined a book club. I learned to snowboard in February and even managed not to (seriously) hurt myself in the process. As for my family, my father is enjoying retirement, my mother accepted a job with the Alabama state department of education and is enjoying her work immensely, and my brother purchased a condo in Daphne and is doing very well.

As I look back on the year, I notice that the most unsettling and yet the most satisfying aspect of all of this is that I am growing up. When we are young, we always say “When I grow, I’m going to…” Those seemingly far away times have arrived at our doorsteps. While we move out and up, securing jobs, houses and apartments, meeting new friends, contacts, and significant others; we must never forget that life cannot get in the way of living.

I have always believed in living in the now. This year, I received a very poignant reminder of that belief.
Now is the time to travel to that place you have always wanted to go. Now is the time to learn to play the tuba. Now is the time to be on that game show you always watched. Now is the time to vie for that promotion. Now is the time to reach for whatever it is that your heart desires. Why? Because none of us really know when that time is set to run out.

As for the near future, I am going back to Costa Rica with Jacqueline’s family in February. We are planning to live together in this next year in a very nice neighborhood in DC. We are then aspiring to make it to Spain for the Fiesta de San Fermin. I have always wanted to do the Running of the Bulls, so why not now? We will then head to Brittany, France to hopefully watch some of the opening stages of the Tour de France. I will update all of my European friends on the status of this trip as time approaches. Truthfully, this year will probably not work out for the Spain/Bulls trip, but its always good to dream and keep goals in mind.

In closing, I wish everyone the best of life, luck, and love in the coming year. I hope to hear from all of you and learn what is going on in your lives, as I am interested to know. It’s going to be a great year.

Best wishes in all of life’s pursuits,

Danny

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
~Benjamin Franklin