2008, i hate to see you go!

boy, oh boy, what a year it has been. here's a look at some of the highlights from the past 12 months....

Tommy's past:

o Tommy fell in love with a beautiful woman named Gisella

o Tommy finished his JVC year in the Cleve with three great people (Brig, Al & V.) and learned so much from each one of them on Church Avenue

o Tommy kept in touch with family and folks from SMdP HS, PC, Feehan, Norton as well as the greater Cleveland area

o Tommy bought his very first BIKE & loves to wear his helmet while peddling around the city

o Tommy became an experienced traveler as he visited Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, New Orleans, D.C., Iowa, Dayton, Cincy, St. Louis, Burlington, and Canada & used planes, trains & automobiles (as well as his bike & own two feet) to get there

o Tommy voted for President-elect Barack Obama in one of the most historic presidential elections this country has ever witnessed

o Tommy is glad you were a part of his year!

Someone famous & well-liked once said, "there is no better moment than the present." TK agrees with this statement at least for now ;)

TK's present:

- TK is returning to John Carroll for his second semester of grad school

- TK is resuming his position as resident minister in Murphy Hall

- TK is celebrating his sister's (Meghan) 21st birthday in Burlington, VT

- TK is looking for a new pair of basketball sneaks & a used fiddle

- TK is disappointed that the Patriots (11-5) didn't make the playoffs, but is ready for pitchers & catchers to report to spring training in February

- TK is excited that he will be back home (in Massachusetts) for spring break (February 27-March 8)

- TK is praying for you and your loved ones

what promises 2009 (and beyond) hold for mr. tom kerrigan...

Tom's future:

* Tom will be participating in an eight-day silent retreat at the JRH in Parma, OH before beginning the spring semester

* Tom will be traveling to Ecuador with a group of JCU students in May 2009

* Tom will, hopefully, be spending the summer of 2009 serving as a camp counselor to urban youth on the west side of Cleveland (maybe even a possible service trip visit to Ireland in late July?)

* Tom will continue meeting with his spiritual director (Fr. Bob Welsh, S.J.)

* Tom will be writing more letters, saving more money, spending less time on the computer, worrying less, keeping in better shape, cutting his hair at the same barber shop, eating more healthy foods, taking better care of self, and praying more consistently

since it is new year's eve & there is copious amounts of snow falling from the heavens, i thought it would be appropriate to share with you a new joke of mine (taken from a page in the kid's monthly magazine, Highlights).....

q. why was the baby ant confused?
(idk, why?)
a. because, his uncles were ants!

may the Lord continue to bless you each and every day. take good care.

His peace and love,
tk

[receive] Christmas

27 minutes until another Christmas day has come and gone. i figured i'd blog before going to bed on a simple, humbling & very meaningful Christmas. i did not wake up this morning thinking that i would look out my window and see green grass and 12+ inches of melted snow on the ground or play a family boardgame created by my younger sister (Kaitlyn) or even share Christmas meal with my maternal grandfather. but i will retire to bed tonight with a fuller understanding & deeper appreciation for the promise that is Christ each and every morning (not just on December 25th). He has blessed my family & i in oh so many ways and hope that He has done the same for you. so without further adieu, merry Christmas to all and to all a good & peaceful night!

it is a wonderful life...

after watching one of my favorite Christmas movies of all-time, It's a Wonderful Life, i am reminded of the true meaning & spirit of this special season--namely to recognize the greatest gift that the good Lord has given to men and women alike is life. Jesus, of course, is the reason we celebrate the season and His birth, life, death & resurrection have the utmost importance to so many of us; however, for each of us to forget that our life is precious and worth living (no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in) would be foolish. instead, let us celebrate life and the blessings that accompany that great gift this day & every day. tonight, i was reminded of what it feels like to lose all hope in oneself and one's life, and i want no part of that. we can all learn a very important message from George Bailey's (Jimmy Stewart) guardian angel, Clarence AS2 (Angel second-class), whose words jingle like the silver bells that adorn the tallest of trees: "remember that no man is a failure who has FRIENDS."