This year, I have more than a year to evaluate. I have a whole decade. The 00's are coming to a close. What a decade it has been!
2000: I started the decade as a 26-year-old stay-at-home mother to a toddler and a preschooler and a part-time student at St. Petersburg Junior College. My older daughter, Beth, started kindergarten in August. My grandfather had a debilitating stroke in November, followed by two life-saving surgeries. He's still living, but he would never be the same again. I feel like I lost him then.
2001: I graduated from St. Pete Junior College and moved on to the University of South Florida to work on my bachelor's degree. Beth started first grade. I was in class when USF closed its Tampa campus at noon the day the World Trade Center was destroyed. I was later relieved to find out that my brother-in-law was not at the Pentagon, as he was originally supposed to be. He got leave to attend a family funeral in Kentucky.
2002: I continued my studies and my poor attempts at cleaning house. My younger daughter, Callie, was finally potty-trained at the age of almost 4. Both daughters were in school. They were in second grade and pre-kindergarten, respectively.
2003: My perspective on the world and my place in it began to change drastically. I turned 30 on the day the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded. I decided that being 30 wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to me. I took the most influential class of my college career, Medieval History I. I decided that I wanted to be a history professor specializing in the early middle ages. I still have a passion for that period. I also met my best friend, Roy, in that class. The girls began third grade and kindergarten. No more preschoolers for me!
2004: This watershed year witnessed some monumental changes in my life. I graduated with my bachelor's degree and began a master's degree in Religious Studies. My first marriage finally fell completely apart, and we divorced. The children began fourth grade and first grade. Life continues.
2005: Roy and I married and moved to his house in Antioch. I, who had never been a pet owner before, suddenly found myself the proud mother of three dogs: Waldo (lab/chow mix), Arlo (lab/beagle mix), and Hijack (Belgian sheep dog). The girls started fifth grade and second grade.
2006: I graduated with my master's degree, but decided against pursuing a Ph.D. immediately. I began working as a staff member at the University of South Florida. Our family adopted a puppy, whom Beth named Friskie (lab/something mix). The girls started sixth grade and third grade. Beth started middle school! The teenage years arrived.
2007: I decided to start working on a Ph.D. in Philosophy, however I only took one class. It was not for me! I decided to follow my childhood dream of teaching elementary school and transferred degree programs. My great-grandmother passed away at the age of 102. The girls started seventh grade and fourth grade. Beth finally grew taller than me.
2008: I began a second master's degree in elementary education. We lost Hijack to kidney failure on Memorial Day. Beth underwent open-heart surgery to close a hole in her heart. It was wildly successful. My aunt was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. She has survived and is thriving. We gained Yoda (chihuahua/mini bull terrier mix) when he wandered into our yard one day. The girls started eighth grade and fifth grade. Our family and our country stood on the precipice of tremendous change.
2009: At the end of this decade, I am a 36-year-old working woman preparing for a new career. My girls are in ninth grade and sixth grade, and they are both teenagers now. We rescued three kittens: Tigger, Ludwig, and Audrey. Arlo, our oldest dog, was diagnosed with cancer. He has been receiving treatments with a new drug, and the cancer is in remission. I look forward to the future and all that it holds.
For me: I am quitting my job at USF to pursue my internship. I hope to begin teaching in August.
For my husband: I hope we can buy the van that he wants and begin seeing the country within the next couple of years.
For my children: They will be graduating from high school during this decade and beginning their own lives in earnest. I hope they find and follow their dreams. I wish the same for my sister, who will also be graduating high school during the coming decade.
For my brother: I wish him the gift of parenthood. I don't mean the physical state. I mean the mental and emotional changes that occur in parents as they watch their child grow from a newborn into an adult.
For my father and step-mother: I hope they learn to forgive. My sister may need it.
For my mother: I hope she has found happiness with her new partner and has smooth sailing (both literally and figuratively) in the years ahead.
For my grandparents: All of my grandparents are still living, even the grandfather that had the stroke, but they now range in age from 83-89 years old. I hope they have as many joy-filled years as possible ahead of them.
I look forward to the years to come.
