As the year comes to a close here in London, the words of one of England's most noted sons, Charles Dickens, come to mind: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

It's been a year of endurance, a year of indulgence. A year of discovery, a year of monotony. A year of... okay, enough with the metaphors.

The best of times...

Dave can proudly fly his "mission accomplished" banner, earning his Masters Degree in Print Media Management in November. We've also gotten to see tons of new cities and countries and have met some truly wonderful friends, like Dave's classmates, the people from my running club, the people I work with and even the random people we've met during our travels.

The worst of times...

My mom died in March, which absolutely, unequivocally was the darkest moment of my life. She had battled cancer for many years but her last bout came faster than the doctors could detect and with a magnitude that left her no chance, and no time. And in October, I was home again for the unexpected death of my uncle.

But not all voyages across the Atlantic were for unfortunate circumstances. In August Dave was home to be in his cousin's wedding. And we've had lots of people cross the Atlantic to visit us including our parents, friends from home and friends from Boston.

Soon, however, our London adventure will be over and on to something else, which is still yet to be determined. We leave London on the 16th of January and will meander a bit before making it back to our respective hometowns at the end of January for awhile.

We will look back on our experience in London as one that taught us to adapt, showed us how to be resourceful, forced us to be wise with money, introduced us to the pleasures we often overlook, and most importantly, reminded us to take advantage of our surroundings. And when we're old and gray, we'll also reflect on our London experience as the reason we're in financial ruin and can't retire.

I can't speak for Dave but I know I've been "completely rubbish" at staying in touch while we've lived in London. If you find that Christmas seems to be the only time you hear from us I apologize. Just know that we are thinking of you even if we don't take a moment to write.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words you can visit this link to some photos and we'll let those do the talking. We wish you all the best in 2008!

David and Marcy