The decade in review

2000 - My very first year of university. I spent the first year commuting from home on transit (horrible!) In February, and then again for the summer, I get my first taste of working in the film industry. 16 hour days, long stretches of doing nothing, meeting so many people outside my little sheltered life in which I was raised, and oodles of money earned. I also land my first big job at an advertising agency. The agency was such a blessing, as they were flexible with my school hours, paid me well, provided a wonderful supervisor, and allowed me to graduate school debt-free. I also move out on my own for the summer, and buy my first car.

2001 - Hmmm. Much more of the same in 2001. Still in school, still working in advertising. Moved out permanently from home, never to return. Really enjoyed living on my own, in a basement apartment. I'm an introvert that way.

2002 - Met James. Life is about to take a completely unexpected turn for me.

2003 - Got married, 8 years before I always said I would (at age 30 - which would be this year!)

2004 - Graduated from university and left filmmaking behind, for the time being.

2005 - Spend most of the year sick with pregnancy, lying on the couch in our apartment. The first three months I watched every program on the Entertainment Network. Once I had seen everything, I watched the Women's Network for the next three months. The last three months was the Sports Network. In between I managed to direct/edit a documentary film for the church, and really get back into music through leading choirs and directing canatas.

2006 - Spend the year in bliss with my new baby boy. Absolutely love being a mom. James takes the year off on parental leave to try his hand in the Toronto film business. At the end of his leave, he decides that while it is not a viable career to support a family, he no longer wants to work for Chrysler. He leaves Chrysler to expand his Dad's business in the Toronto area. We are now business owners.

2007 - We buy our first home in a town I always loved. Spend much of the year sick with pregnancy. James and my Mom tag team watching Colin while I lay in bed, barely able to sit up. Caleb is born.

2008 - A bit of a blur. Caleb cried for most of the year, completely exhausting me as a mother. But good friends and family help me through.

2009 - Spend the first half of the year sick with pregnancy. We hire a nanny for the two boys, since James is working so much and my mom is still teaching. She was fantastic, a true blessing from heaven. Colin starts kindergarten. Benjamin is born.

2010 - Sleep deprived nights, fun filled days. Still in the survival mode of early parenthood. Trying to find my own rhythm as a mother, wife and friend. For the first time in 4 years, some semblance of order is returning to my life, although it looks very different than ever before.

***

Last night over New Years Eve takeout (Thai), James and I did sort of a verbal review of the last year and ideas for goals for the coming year. It was actually really fun. Instead of just jumping into all the things we'd like to do better on, we took the time to talk about what we accomplished over the past year. I highly recommend this exercise, because it provided a very positive foundation for talking about the areas in which we need to improve. So often New Years resolutions are the same year to year, and you end up feeling like you just can't get them done. This way, we were able to see how far we've come.

I'm still processing my ideas for 2011, but I'm hoping to get them all written down soon.