Dec 31 2008
A Year in Rear View
I know, it’s usually a “year in review” but in reality, aren’t we looking at the year in rear view, since it’s behind us?
What a year it has been for my nutty little brood and me.
The year began and Bean was just a tiny little thing. As a matter of fact, I barely remember the beginning of the year with all of the sleep deprivation I experienced. I do know that she and I passed thrush back and forth and I got fed up and weaned her at 6 months. I felt guilty, since Bug nursed for a year, but Bean could have cared less where she was getting her milk, so long as she was getting it.
Around March I woke up out of my sleepy daze and realized that I’m still me, just me with two kids. This inspired me to start writing more blogs and losing weight. I ended up losing almost 30 pounds between January and June! Unfortunately, I gained 15 lbs back. Meh. Oh well.
In April, I joined AC and began writing articles. The day I got my first “You’ve been published!” email I got all excited and emailed everyone I know with a link to my very first article: How to Make a Mother’s Day Time Capsule. Now that I know more about SEO content writing and producing work that will show up on Google, I realize I did that first article entirely wrong. But, you always have to start from somewhere!
I had the opportunity to meet several of my online friends in Virginia in May. We met online during our pregnancies with our September 2005 babies and have kept in contact since. Everyone else had their children with them, but toting Bug and Bean across the country was not my idea of a good time, so I went solo. It was such an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience meeting this group of women that I would not otherwise have known.
In July I signed up for the Accentuate Writers forum on a whim. That whim would prove to be one of the most wonderful things I could do for my writing career. I learned about writing successfully online, I learned about Today.com and started this blog. I dove head first into a fiction writing contest and although I didn’t make it to the semifinals, I learned a great deal about how to become a successful writer.
Somehow, Bug grew up from my chunky little baby and turned three in September. It’s true what Kate of Jon and Kate Plus 8 said on Oprah. Three is most definitely the new two. Still, with his tantrums and difficult behavior, I have seen a loving, wonderful side to him that I cherish and adore.
In September, I turned 26 and Turk and I celebrated five years of marriage. I also started this blog, kicking off with my first Today.com blog entry Why You Shouldn’t Read This Blog. (For the record, what I said in that blog still rings true. *wink*) September was a busy month!
Bean turned one in October and my children suddenly began entertaining each other for a few minutes. I am holding out hope that those few minutes will soon turn into even more minutes and I can actually get back to those wifely duties I’ve been slacking on.
In October I was also privileged to attend my very first MOPS convention . I went expecting to learn a bit about being a steering team member and I left with a changed outlook on life, my spirituality renewed. To express in words the impact the MOPS convention had on me would simply be impossible.
Possibly one of my greatest personal accomplishments this year was placing first in the Accentuate short story contest. Still, I find myself in disbelief and wonder if it was all a dream. I am beside myself with anticipation to see the Accentuate Anthology finished, in print, my name on the cover among many talented writers and my story inside alongside their stories. How cool will that be?
This year, Turk and I went from hell-bent on adopting a child to realizing that we cannot afford it right now. I have been through a bit of a rough patch with postpartum depression and figuring out how to maintain “me” while still traipsing around in sweatpants covered in crumbs and spit up all day. I am thankful that has seemed to work out well so far.
As this year comes to a close and I glance back in my rear view mirror, I find myself both terrified and excited for another new year. Excited to see what kind of adventures the new year will bring, terrified that next year will significantly pale in comparison to this year. But, I guess there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there? Keep on living.
Happy New Year my friends! Here’s to another year of silly ramblings.
