Jen's Column / 3-Year-Anniversary

Well, here we are again. It's the start of a new year, which means I've just tucked another 12 months of Jen's World snugly under my belt.

So how was Year No. 3 from this end? Oh, you know, pretty wonderful. I still feel incredibly lucky to be able to sit down and chat with you on Wednesday afternoons. And, as usual, dear readers, you've proven yourselves to be great friends.

This year, you've watched me go back to school and introduced me to my first chemical peel. You've joined me — if only in spirit — for belly dancing lessons and have doled out gardening advice. You commiserated with me when all the spoons disappeared from my house — and you helped me refill my drawer. (Thank you, again, nice lady from LeRoy!)

You cheered me on when I went to New York for my first half-marathon. And even though you were silent when I invited you to join me for next summer's triathlon, I'm confident that you'll come around. (I'm telling you, people: We can do this!)

You related to my adolescent diary entries. And instead of making fun of excerpts like, "I have 14 posters of Kirk Cameron. He is so awesomely choice," you shared some doozies of your own. (I won't name names, but at least one of you admitted to a diary entry that included detailed instructions for rolling the perfect '80s-style jeans cuff.)

You comforted me when I sent both of my sons off to school for full days for the first time — and warned me that it'll be even tougher when they leave for college. (However, you should know that my kids have promised me that they'll never leave, so that's not really an issue at my house.)

You watched me seriously freak out over my unfortunate Post-Bulletin head shot — and you chose an appropriate replacement when I had it redone. I was excited by how many of you voted for my new picture and appreciated your sympathetic (and funny) words about how horrible the old one was. But no comment surprised me as much as the one that read something along the lines of, "What a joke. No male columnist would do something like this."

Well, duh.

Sure, you may not always be comforting — but what friend is? When I told you about how I went to the Mamma Mia sing-along in my pajamas, after all, one of you had the audacity to say, "I'm not sure I believe you."

Alas, I, too, wish it weren't true. Unfortunately, there were far too many theater-goers that night who can vouch for me and my Scottie-dog pjs.

Still, "I'm not sure I believe you" is a friendly admonition when compared to the anonymous online reader who called me, and I quote, "that idiot Koski" earlier this year. But don't worry; my skin is getting thicker… and more often, my heart is warmed by you.

A prime example is the stack of letters and comments I received after I wrote about the death of my grandfather this fall. Not only did you sympathize, but so many of you shared your own stories of parents and grandparents who've impacted your life.
Thank you for your stories. I hope you'll keep them coming. And as long as you will, I will. I like that we're in this together — and I thank you for coming along for the ride. Here's to 2009!