2010

As 2009 drew to a close, Nicholas and I could tell that 2010 was going to be a year full of changes.  He'd already taken the LSAT and was waiting to hear back from law schools.  We were feeling simultaneously direction-less and restless.  We didn't have a "PLAN."  Being the first-born, ambitious, list-making girl that I am, I decided we needed one.  Post haste.  Except that November intervened.  Then December.  Anyone who has ever wrapped a Christmas present knows how quickly the month of December fills up.

Thus it wasn't until January that we had an opportunity to make my list.  Or rather, lists.  In fact, we set aside an entire weekend to do so.  We headed up to the Allegheny Mountains armed with a "Do It Yourself Marriage Retreat" list of questions from 9Marks Ministries, our Bibles, and a notepad.  Oh, and candles, coffee, and toothbrushes.  Mustn't forget the toothbrushes.  I can honestly say that that weekend changed our not-quite-two-year-old marriage drastically.  We talked.  Prayed.  Laughed.  Planned.  My plan for lists became our lists.  Yes, multiple.  It facilitated conversations that helped us make it through a tumultuous 2010.  Not so much from the list of questions, but more from the questions we made up ourselves.

One of those lists was our goals for 2010.  We had some fun stuff on there, like paddle-boating on the Tidal Basin.  There were also some serious things, like reading through the entire Bible.  It was fitting, then, that on the last night of the year, Nicholas and I dusted off the list and went through checking things off.

Here are some of the things on our list:

Try 12 ethnic restaurants:  Only made it to 8, but it's made us much more adventurous in our food choices.
Read through the entire Bible:  Almost finished.
Reduce grocery bill:  Drastically!
Visit Mt. Vernon:  Yep.  By the way, if you live in NoVA, the annual pass is actually worth it.
Washington Monument:  Nope.  I've been there so many times and have yet to make it to the top.
Declutter:  Yes.  Somehow, moving helps you do that.  Nicholas also started selling books on Amazon, which has netted quite a profit.
Regular Date Nights:  Sporadic.  Interestingly enough, they got more regular once we moved.

We also made another list noting major events of 2010.  There were quite a few, to say the least.  Moving certainly ranked up there.  But the real highlights of the year all involved spending time with our loved ones:  having Nicholas's family visit in June, seeing my brother for a couple hours at Dulles in July,  a certain wedding at Cape Cod in Oct, spending a weekend with Nicholas's grandparents in Nov, having my sister & brother for Thanksgiving, and, of course, Christmas in Millington.

Our 2011 list is written.  Here's hoping that 2011 will contain just as many special moments with our dear ones.

P.S.  No, we never did make it to the paddle-boats on the Tidal Basin. We'll just have to go back sometime.