If you see a whole thing - it seems that it's always beautiful. Planets, lives... But up close a world's all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life's a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. - Ursula K. LeGuin

Friday, January 1, 2010

Decade Review

A few people have been reviewing the last decades with year-by-year highlights. I like that idea a lot (and I'm way too tired to do the substantial posts that are brewing) so I thought I'd try it.

2000
Spent the year not-dating but secretly dating b and dating other men; was supposed to be working on my dissertation but didn't (I believe this year--along with 1999--was more about acting adolescent than adolescence actually was); TOC came into our lives.

2001
b and I got serious; Pupzilla came into our lives and made us a family; I got serious about my dissertation

2002
Defended my dissertation, graduated, got a faculty appointment, bought a house w/ b and moved outside of the city; b started his own business

2003
Lost my brother-in-law very unexpectedly, married b; b started working for horrible photographer; Angel started having serious issues with his father

2004 - 2005
Started getting into deep financial debt w/ house I loved but couldn't afford; b unemployed and then retrained as EMT and eventually paramedic; hated my own job and went on job search; discovered my research agenda. The Brute came into our lives.

2006
Found and landed current job; moved to SouthLite; spent entire year not selling house and falling deeper and deeper in debt; finally sold house at a loss in December; b took outdoor leadership course he always dreamed of and started yet another career

2007
Watched Angel graduate high school; helped Angel get into college and decide to defer; started slow process of paying off debt; learned to juggle research and teaching; started blog

2008
Met and emotionally adopted Pumpkin; sent Angel to college and dealt with the emotional fallout (mine); got obsessively serious about my research

2009
Adjusted to life post-active mothering; submitted tenure dossier; started doula training

2010 (so far)
Assisted at my first birth (separate post to follow); said good-bye to Pumpkin as she moved away to graduate school; who knows what comes next?

2 comments:

Drax said...

Congratulations on your first birth assist! Looking forward to that post.

Aiiyee. Ten years. Unreal, huh? As my draxian powers grant me access to secret knowledge, I think I can say with some authority that you've done extraordinarily well, and that you're in a very good place. I'm proud of you. Much love to you, b, Angel, various beasts and brutes, pups, pumpkins, students, bloggers and readers.

Now, get out of here. Go, get! The lot of you, scat! There is much to be done. Behold the clock, it ticks.

Julie said...

Looking back on your highlights is interesting. So much happens in a decade, doesn't it? You inspired me to think about my own highlights, and I'm not as big a loser as I thought I was...haha! It's sort of nice to see the growth I've made as a person and the things hubby and I have overcome in life.

Helping with a birth is a wonderful way to start the new year. Congratulations! You have a beautiful heart.