Thank You, 2015

For some reason, I so vividly remember New Year's Eve and Day 2014/2015. It was the nicest, most peaceful night and day for our family. Being a regular work day, I did punch into the job on New Year's Eve. Then, G and I met D at Jalapeno Inferno for happy hour on my way home. After getting G to bed, D and I prepped a Swedish Tea Ring for breakfast the next morning (a New Year's tradition in Dylan's family) and watched the first half of Boyhood. In the morning, we enjoyed our tea ring, and at some point that day we finished our movie. Nobody had any tasks they needed to complete while at home, for a change. We were all so relaxed and happy. I just remember basking in the peace of that particular day. After constantly feeling revved up for months and months, it was the most strange feeling. In the best way possible. It made me believe that 2015 would be a good year.

My feeling turned out to be true. It was such a good year. One that brought some much-needed positive change. Of course, we welcomed a new family member just before closing out the year, which was our main headline. I've already covered much of that in detail (and more to come, for sure), but let's take a quick look at what else unfolded.

Winter and spring were a blur, but we did fit in ample bike riding and skiing, and for that reason alone, it was a good time. With a trip to Aspen thrown in there, I would definitely say the year got off to a great start.

Then, I took a step away from work beginning in the summer. We hit the family reunion in San Diego, and then Gavin and I spent a month at the Millers' house on the Oregon Coast. For the first time in my stint as a mom, I could fully enjoy my time with Gavin. My responsibilities, besides caring for my son, were few. Time was our friend, and we took advantage of that by doing and seeing all there was to do and see. We were both relaxed and slept well. It was great being with our Oregon family. I felt refreshed and ready to come home by the end. Most especially because we both missed Dylan a lot. But I also gained a perspective on life. So much so, that I even wrote a paper about this experience for my non-fiction creative writing class. (Side note: the final draft was due the day I went into labor...but the instructor gave me an extension, and I got an A.)

When we came home from our summer adventure, I squeezed in a trip to Iceland with Dylan and crew and then began the Season of Lu. Gavin picked back up at Dawn's twice a week, and I enrolled at SCC in Interior Design and Non-fiction Creative Writing. I LOVED both classes. They were time consuming, and I spent many afternoons at the library and stayed up late doing projects at night. I hadn't been involved in something I enjoyed that much in a very, very long time. It felt so good. Meanwhile, I went to my regular appointments at Babymoon while Gavin was at daycare, where I discovered a community of people that I really grew to respect and adore. As the semester came to end, I found myself doing final projects, preparing for a baby and doing Christmas duties. It was a little stressful but fully worth it.

None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my most favorite guy. The best guy I've ever met. (I'm not just saying that.) For years, he's pushed me to do whatever makes me happy. And for the longest time I did not heed his advice and instead kept doing what I was doing because I felt like it was what I "should" do. When I finally decided to take some time away from work, nobody was more excited than Dylan. He thought it would be a good thing for the whole family, and he was right. The sudden increase in frequency of home-cooked meals were a bonus, too. Our family, as a collective, has never been happier than we were in 2015.

As the year drew to an end, everything became a blur. Graham joined us 10 days early, we celebrated Christmas, and somewhere in there Dylan landed an opportunity that will allow him to continue to fly while also bringing our family some stability and predictability. After years of never being able to plan a single thing...from dinner at night to weekend getaways, this will allow for a lifestyle change that will reduce a lot of stress and help us to remain a cohesive family unit. He will still travel a lot, but our lives will be disrupted a whole lot less, which is the best Christmas gift in the world. I am eternally grateful that this job landed in his lap. The timing was perfect.

As far as my professional life? Well, I have a 2-week-old baby, so I don't even know if I'm coming or going on most days let alone what I want to do for work. I'm pretty happy hanging at home for now, but I'm sure that in time I will miss being involved in something else. I do miss having a disposable income, too, but not so much so that I want to rush back into anything. So, only time will tell, but I'm in no hurry to figure it out any time soon.

Over the years, we've dealt with plenty of challenges personally and professionally. I think the streak was finally broken this year. 2015 was a year of blessings and good fortune and so very importantly, good health. I'm sure we'll encounter plenty of hurdles in our future, but that's neither here nor there. I'm excited to be able to look ahead with hope for more good things to come. God was good to us in 2015. Welcome, 2016!