2008 in Review

2008 in Review
I am two days late, nearly, with my yearly reflection, but that seems to be appropriate. I have such good intentions of keeping up with everything, but it just doesn’t pan out that way all of the time. 2008 was a year of work, schedules, and cherishing ALL moments together at home—because those are what make life WONDERFUL!

Nick just finished his third semester of dental school. Woo-hoo! Over the summer I was seeing his “one year down, three to go” as NOT a monumental thing, but really in this journey, we were HALF WAY FINISHED! People ask Nick all the time how long his dental school spans. Four years. HOWEVER…if one is on the transforming-from-an-engineer-to-a-dentist plan, including the leveling courses, application time, waiting for acceptance, waiting to begin school, and then the years of school, it is SIX years. Yes, SIX. Twelve semesters. A good thing about where we are right at this very moment, Nick just finished semester number seven. We are on the downhill slope. We still have a lengthy road to travel, but it is refreshing to know that there is an end in sight. One bad thing about him finishing is that we do not know where we want to live upon completion of his DDS. I guess we know where we want to live, but unfortunately those places are not the same! We’ve been pretty nomadic over the last ten years, but it has always been our desire to settle somewhere, firmly plant roots, and live for many, many years. Choosing the exact location does seem to be the biggest and most polarized debate that we’ve ever had to ride out.

Nathan is half way finished with kindergarten. Yikes! He reads, he “transforms” into these cartoon aliens, he entertains his brother (who is not always the most easily-entertainable toddler), he wonders, he investigates, he sings and sings and sings, he computes, he helps, he sings some more, and he plays tirelessly. He doesn’t plan for his house in Colorado hardly at all anymore, but he is always thinking and changing and growing. He is tall and lean. He loves infomercials. He is a fine older brother. Sometimes Michael intentionally and unintentionally pesters the dickens out of Nathan and I am so fortunate that Nathan continues to have strength, control, and patience when working with his little brother.

Michael is VERY two-and-a-half. He wants to uppy, but he wants down at the same time. He wants a poptart cut into pieces, but shrieks after all the cuts are made. He decides upon a show, then squeals to change it immediately. Aaah, he tests everyone’s limits and then pushes just a liiiiittle bit more. I could use a little less drama from him, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He is learning to be polite and says “thank you mommy.” His hair is straight and silky, and smells SOOOO good. Lately he has discovered the COMPUTER, and makes it VERY clear when he wants to play Starfall. He snuggles with me when it is cold or rainy outside, and still lounges with me in the rocking chair for nightly stories. He sings parts of little songs—the words that he remembers—and the voice that may have been screeching the moment before emits the sweetest little melodies. Sure, he is opinionated, persnickety, and stretches us all to our limits and beyond, but he is an absolutely precious and darling little person.

Just two days after Christmas, we loaded up the boys, two giant suitcases, a port-a-crib, a food box, two laundry baskets full of toys, a laptop, my fruit bag/purse, six coats, a toiletry bag, and I am sure something else and drove to Lubbock for three nights. Once Nick and I gave up on having our own agenda and catered more toward the boys, we had a decent time. Kids just aren’t all that interested in so many nostalgic drives up and down memory lanes. I can’t imagine why. Parts of Lubbock have changed a great deal. The southwest is exploding with everything that comes along with new freeway construction. Our houses were painful to see, especially the Norfolk house. I could ramble on about how it ripped my heart out to see both boys walking up and down the sidewalk WITH STICKS, but I will refrain. We got to see Mrs. Turner who had turned 93 just the day before we visited. She was especially glad that we brought the boys by for a visit, but was especially sad to see us go…as we were sad to leave her. She is not well, but she is a dear friend. The visit was special. We zipped in and out for a visit with Roland and Juanice because of their cats. They, too, will always be considered dear friends to us. Their daughter and her family were just leaving to return to Austin, so I was glad to see them all. The night that we were packing up to return home the next morning, I got an e-mail from Josh. We hadn’t seen him in 6 years, and he had made contact with me just that night. I shot off another e-mail about how we were in Lubbock for the FIRST time since we left, but that we were leaving for home in the morning. True friends will go out of their way to make a visit work. He, his lovely wife, and two darling little daughters drove in the wee hours of the morning from Plainview to meet us for breakfast before our departure. With some people, you can go years apart, but come together and visit like there was no span of separation. We reminisced and wow-ed at how time had changed our jobs, grown our families, and aged us! We swapped the little information that each of us had about other friends from that era.

Nick and I, in all of our tribulations with this dental journey, have remained strong. I am so thankful that we share SO much. We have such a deep history with each other, and we have such a bright future together. At least we dream about what is yet to come. We work especially hard to make our boys’ lives just a little bit better than our own lives have been. That’s tough because we have very privileged lives. I don’t know what 2009 has in store for us all, but the anticipation is exciting! It’s two nights after the big hoopla, and people are still setting off fireworks!—I guess there are others who are two nights late for something also!