The toughest challenge yet!

What a year ... I started 2008 with great expectations. My new product was heading in the right direction and ended 2007 very strong (Good). My ex-wife was continuing to cause problems even though we divorced six years earlier (Anything to do with my ex is always Bad). My 3 kids were going to be turning 16, 16(my stepson) and 14 (Good bits and less good bits, but no Bad bits). My wife was going to be starting her interior design degree (Good).

How has it turned out? The economic crisis has claimed many victims including me - I'm unemployed. I haven't screamed at my ex-wife since December 19th. That turned out good - she picked up our eldest child from the airport instead of her just catching a cab and going to an unknown destination. Oh yeah, that is the daughter that decided to move back to England to live with me, my wife and my stepson. She has said that living with us is the happiest she has ever been. My stepson has navigated the very treacherous waters of being a teenage boy in London amazingly well. I wouldn't want to be a 16 year old in these times and I'm proud of him. My wife is doing really well on her degree, but it is consuming huge amounts of her time and energy. My youngest daughter has taken a mechanics course at school which she didn't choose - it was assigned to her. I'm trying to get her to change the oil in the car while she is visiting with us over Christmas.

We had my wife's family around for Christmas and had a great time, but you don't want to read about that.

But now ... today ... the biggest challenge I have faced all year ... Bigger the Credit Crisis ... more challenging than 2 young adults starting A Levels and a wife taking a degree ... Scarier than global warming/climate change (take your pick of description).

We are returning unwanted/wrong sized/damaged gifts into the post-Christmas sales! Oh my gawd! Who thought this was a good idea? Taking three teenagers into the melee! This might be my last post! What if I am trampled by the hordes that are chasing down bargain prices? What if I kill myself because I can't stand the crowds?

Wish me luck - it's not an assignment I have chosen, but rather one that I have been volunteered for. I will do my best for my people, that's all I can promise. (I will be taking my ice hockey elbow pads with me.)