One Decade

One decade ago I was with my friend Wendy counting down the New Year. What was going to happen??? Is it really the end of the world and Y2K is the catalyst? 3-2-1...."pop"!!!

Things went by in a blur...

I'm legal to smoke... and vote for that matter... Took some pretty deep hits early on... Cleaned up my act... Graduated High School (class of 2000!!!!)... Saw my potential... Went to college... Dropped out of college... Adopted my dog Hattie... Nephew born... Went back to college after working in the "real" world for a bit... Surprise! Another nephew... Found what I love... Broke up with a love... Legal to drink... Parents divorced... Then things just moved into warp speed... Internship in California... Freelance for ESPN... Dated a guy who first changed the way I looked at relationships... Then, was the first to break my heart... Learned to let go... Graduated college... Found job in Asheville, NC... Move... Fun, fun, fun... Learned to love politics, be green, snowboard, and drink green tea... Margarita Mondays with the girls... Fork in the road and took the risky route... Ops Assistant for College Football... Traveled a lot!!! Loved it!!!... In my element... Worked harder than ever before... Met a Boston boy who was the second to change the way I looked at relationships... Quarter-century old... Risky route didn't turn out to be the best route... Went back to what was safe... Learned that safe isn't always bad... Adopted 2 cats... One died... Broke up with Boston boy... Not happy... Quit smoking... Played Rugby... Got back together with Boston... Vacation to Maine... Second cat died... Learned sometimes things just don't work... New job... Moved to Myrtle Beach... New nephew... And a new vacation planned to Maine...

Now I'm 27... far, far from home.... New lessons being learned... a New Year about to start... brings me back to that night one decade ago and 816.41 miles away...

Wendy and I partying like it was 1999. Bright-eyed and full of optimism. Nothing could stop me then. The world was my oyster and I was so ready to just get out in it. 10-9-8-7.... We are laughing cause we think all the world's computers are going to crash... 6-5-4... What does the world have in store for us? Full of anxiety and anticipation... 3-2-1... "pop"!!!

Lights go out! We're screaming, "Oh my gosh, it really happened!!! Y2K!!! The computers crashed!!!" We run out of her room screaming at the top of our lungs.... only to find her dad standing by the circuit breaker box.

It's amazing all that I managed to fit into one decade. A lot of firsts... and lasts. Through the ups and downs I have managed to survive. I'm a little more wary and slightly wiser. I forgive a little easier... even when it comes to myself. I'm slightly more patient. Definitely more confident in my choices and what I do and do not like. I cherish friendships more and family matters more now than ever before. So, what's the next decade have in store? I can't even begin to imagine. Hopefully though, it's just as much fun.

So, farewell to the last decade...I'm tying it up in a pretty little bow and putting it on a shelf. I look forward to taking it down 10 years from now and comparing it to this upcoming decade. Where will I be? What will I be doing? All I know, is wherever I end up is where I'm suppose to be.

The New Year

To sum it up 2009 was all about dead cats, car ax, computers crashing, job searching, an online college stint, a new president, chiropractor sessions, new family additions, keeping resolutions, taking several vacations, rugby practice, a lumpy mattress, getting hopes up, and then let down, even trying to sell some avon, part-time at Wal-Mart, kicking butt at darts, packing and unpacking and moving again, opening the mailbox and finding letters from my Gran, Friday Night Football, being on-call, liveshots, vosots, and alligator commercials. With everything 2009 has brought my way, I'm lucky to have good family, friends....... and a little more pay $$$ 2010 bring it on! New decade, new year, new memories to form. No way to tell what this new year has in mind. The good and bad I will take in stride. The surprises of life are what make it fun...you may end up somewhere different than you had planned. We are all unique and special in our own right... so Happy New Years to all and to all a goodnight!!!!