But I think these past 10 years were probably the most exciting for me yet. I'll have to count the life-changing events in there because there were so many. Tuck in for some reminiscing and allow me to take you through the last 10 years of my life:
1999: I graduated from high school in May and attended college at Penn State Behrend, and starting working at Wegmans (I will always have fond memories). Is this when Spence wrecked his first car? We take our annual family trip to Maine.
2000: Spence graduates from high school and decides to attend RIT in Rochester. He proposed to me that summer and I accepted. It was the beginning of a three-year long-distance engagement, and particularly depressing for the first few weeks. Spence drives his Relient K home to Erie every few weeks to visit. Our first OBX vacation. I get a tattoo and hide it from my parents for about a month.
2001: September 11. I will always remember this year, as will most Americans. Is this when the Relient K dies and Spence has to learn how to drive an '87 ('84?) Corvette in the snow? He teaches me how to drive it, the first standard I'll ever learn to drive. I start learning the layout of Rochester, NY and meet his roomie, Greg and friend Terry from work.
2002: At first, I can't remember a darn thing that happened this year, but then I remember - school is in full swing. I was elected president of Behrend's chapter of APO for both semesters in 2002. Promoted to managing editor for The Beacon. I'm a Schreyer Honors scholar and start my thesis work in the fall. Another OBX vacation. I turn 21 and get my belly button pierced and party. Spence starts a full-time job and school full-time.
2003: Pass thesis defense. I graduate from college. Spence and I marry in July, and we move to Rochester. After a fantastic honeymoon, I am not happy to leave Erie and have to adjust to living away from home for the very first time. Over Thanksgiving break, we buy two cats who are litter mates - Wesley and Buttercup. Our first apartment, a 750 sq. ft. one-bedroom flat, cuddles us in nicely. I work two jobs - Wegmans and the beverage cart chick at a local country club - and then land a job as a project manager at Element K.
2004: I find out on September 11 that I'm pregnant. I spend the rest of the year trying not to puke. One look at our one-bedroom flat and it's time to ask friends and family to move us into a two-bedroom townhouse down the street. With many tears, sweat and curse words, we serve free pizza and beer to those who moved a king-size mattress and solid oak bed set up our narrow stairway. Another OBX vacation in the summer.
2005: The words "starting a business" and "California" escape Spencer's lips when I'm eight months pregnant, and I cry at the thought of moving so far away from family. Rachel Anna makes her debut on May 17 after over 33 hours of labor (three hours of pushing) and the summer is bright, hot and spent on maternity leave, recuperating by walking up and down Lilac Drive every morning. Spencer graduates five days after her birth, on my birthday. OBX vacation.
2006: "Starting a business" and "California" are a reality. Spence leaves for California in May while I pack and wrap up our life in Rochester for a new endeavor on the West Coast. I lose the rest of my baby weight (20 lb.) during this time and remember sobbing as I left my mom and sisters in the Buffalo airport. California welcomes me in August with endless blue skies and seeing my husband for the first time in 10 weeks. I begin my own transcription business with the help of my aunt as a transcription apprentice. OBX, Florida and Maine that summer, but without Spence. We cook our first Thanksgiving dinner by ourselves. Weekly webcam nights begin. I join Facebook and MySpace.
2007: Life in California becomes habit. Spence works nonstop to keep a roof over us. Rachel and I spend the time exploring Sunnyvale. Spence, Rach and I spend Saturdays exploring the coast, getting lunch and enjoying San Francisco, Monterey Bay, Half Moon Bay and the Pacific Ocean. I get my nose pierced. My mom comes to visit around Easter, and then the rest of my family come in July to see the West Coast. I fly home in August for baby showers, parties, friends and family. We come home for Christmas. The economy crashes and the housing bubble blows. The business is on its last legs.
2008: The New Year brings new decisions - Spence decides it is time to move back East and start exploring other business avenues. Spence leaves to start his job on April 1. Mom comes to California one last time to help me pack. We hire movers this time around to carry our boxes and unload for us in Pennsylvania, in a quiet town south of Pittsburgh, in a three-bedroom townhouse. Cindy gets married. Elizabeth gets married. I get pregnant again and spend the rest of the year trying not to puke. We start to pay off debt from the business venture. OBX vacation.
2009: I get another job doing medical transcription. The country elects a black man as President. Tim gets married. Sela Chloe is born with flying colors (that's a gross pun) in a mere four hours of labor. The day is bright, hot and spent cuddling in a quiet birthing facility in downtown Pittsburgh. Family comes to celebrate I sleep in my own bed that night and shower in my own bathroom in the morning. We miss OBX. Sela gets colic. Rachel starts preschool. Sara starts driving.
I think I have more than enough to be thankful for as this decade begins to wind down. I count 15 life-changing events in this decade (one marriage, two graduations, four moves, two kids, three job changes for me, three job changes for him).
If you look online, the past decade is full of unfulfilled dreams, unpaid bills, a war and a warmer climate. You'll probably find something different, though, if you look in your heart. What was your decade like? How do you want your next decade to look? Me? I hope the next decade looks just as good as this past one.
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