Decade in Review

I'm stealing this idea from my friend Natalie. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that Mike and I were sitting in his apartment in Northfield, waiting to see the extent of the Y2K crash - and then being relieved/disappointed when absolutely nothing happened at the stroke of midnight. In other ways, it seems like so much has happened since then. (In fact, this was a really good exercise for me, since it turned out to be much harder than I had expected to remember all these events and their corresponding dates! I know I'm missing things, so please email me if you think of anything I neglected to include!) So here it is - a brief summary of my last decade, in rough chronological order:

2000: Living in Northfield - junior year in Burton, then senior year off campus with Rachel. Saw Bill Clinton speak at commencement. Worked at the All-arts and Sciences Camp over the summer.

2001: Graduated from Carleton. Helped Mike move out to Connecticut. Spent the summer nannying, then started grad school at the U. Got engaged in December.

2002: Finished my first year of grad school (including my first "Research Day" presentation.) Spent the summer nannying for a different family, and also doing a psychology practicum in Connecticut. Did a lot of wedding planning.

2003: Along with Mike and Margaret, helped Mike move back from Connecticut. Bought our house. Got married. Honeymooned in Bayfield. Adopted Lucy.

2004: Got through my second "Research Day" presentation. Travelled to Kauai and presented at APA in Honolulu. Adopted Mac. Earned my master's.

2005: Survived my third (and final) "Research Day" presentation. Travelled to multiple weddings (Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia and Florida). Presentation at SRP in Miami got cancelled due to a hurricane. Defended my prelims to officially become a doctoral candidate. Applied for internship.

2006: Travelled on internship interviews. Taught my first class (solo!) at the U. Travelled to Scotland for Jane's wedding. Re-did the kitchen countertops and finally installed a dishwasher. Attended our 5-year college reunion. Started internship at HCMC.

2007: Defended my dissertation. Visited my Grandma Baker in PA before she died. Presented at APA in San Francisco. Officially (finally) graduated! Started my post-doc at the VA.

2008: Went on my first backpacking trip and actually enjoyed it. Passed the EPPP and PRE in order to get licensed. Did the Breast Cancer 3-Day with Salwa. Started my first real job at Bethesda. Started running - ran a 5K on Thanksgiving.

2009: Mike got accepted to grad school! Went to Boston for Anna's wedding. Had two miscarriages. Took my first (and final?) canoe trip in the Boundary Waters. Finally got high speed internet and smart phones. Refinished our floors, reroofed the house, and got a new front door. Then got laid off from Bethesda. Freaked out quite a bit. Mike started grad school. Started my wonderful new job at the Emily Program. Continued running (between pregnancies), and ran a 10K on Thanksgiving.

Whew! It was a whirlwind decade. We'll see what the next 10 years bring our way. Happy 2010, everyone!