New Year's Review

2009 was, obviously, a pretty huge, life-changing year for me, so it seems appropriate to take a look back using Sundry's New Year's quiz.

(And for those of you that are curious/impatient, I am working on the birth story post, I promise.  For some reason, I find I have a lot to say about it and the subject of the story doesn't seem to think it's reasonable of me to expect some time to type it out.  But it's coming along.)

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?

Got pregnant. Gave birth. Passed my PhD comprehensive exam and became a PhD candidate. Went on a joint family vacation with our good friends the Kickerts.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


Last year I made an UnResolution, choosing to focus on not letting school rule my life rather than stressing about things I wanted to do.  For the most part, I think I was successful at this endeavor, especially after I took and passed my comps. This is perhaps made most evident by our decision to expand our family this year, something that I wouldn't have been able to do if I had continued to let school overwhelm me.

For this year, my primary focus is on becoming the type of mother I want to be and really appreciating each and every moment with Molly and David.

But, for the first time ever, I am also going to make a weight loss resolution.  It has always seemed too cliche.  But this year I want to start early losing my pregnancy weight (and, in fact, I'd like to lose ten pounds more than the weight I put on during my pregnancy) because my best chance at weight loss success is if I make some major headway before I start teaching again in August.  So, we'll see.  But I definitely won't let this become an obsession; nor will I let it overshadow my focus on my family.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

So many people close to me gave birth this year. I have a group of 6 girlfriends (including myself) from college and 5 of us have given birth in the last 15 months. And that's just the tip of the hat.  My groups of friends was once largely composed of couples and it has very quickly become a group of families.

4. Did anyone close to you die?


No.

5. What countries did you visit?

Sadly, none outside of the US. Hopefully we'll get another chance to do some international traveling in the relatively near future, though.  I do miss it.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?


Greater financial peace.  I don't necessarily need more money (though if you'd like to throw some my way, I'll take it). Instead I just want to be content with our financial situation and not stress out about it.  More to the point, however, is that I'd like David to have peace about this.  I don't want to miss the wonder of the everyday by stressing about finances and the future.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?


December 24, 2009

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Giving birth.  Passing my comps.

9. What was your biggest failure?


I wasn't very successful at balancing teaching and working on my dissertation with being pregnant.  I was able to really enjoy being pregnant and appreciate the wonderful moments it involved, which was important to me.  But I didn't get anywhere near as much work done on my dissertation as I had hoped to, and I was nowhere near the teacher I strive to be. I am particularly happy to have the spring semester off to give me an opportunity to recharge my academic batteries and start back in the fall with a new fervor.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?


Aside from a cold or two, just my stupid fall while 27 weeks pregnant.

11. What was the best thing you bought?


Everything for Molly's nursery. I also recently bought a label maker that I really love:)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?


I'll write more about this later, but David has blown me away throughout my pregnancy and especially since Molly was born.  It's like a flip was switched the second she arrived and all of a sudden he just was Dad. Everything seems natural to him and he is so clearly head-over-heels in love with his daughter, making me even more head-over-heels in love with him.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?


Those who have fought so hard against gay marriage rights and universal health care.  I don't understand the inclination to deny others basic human rights like recognized love and a healthier life.  It stems from an elitism and/or hatred that I simply don't understand.

14. Where did most of your money go?


Aside from regular bills, planning for Molly.

15. What did you get really excited about?


Finding out I was pregnant and then, 35 weeks later, meeting my daughter.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?


Ben Taylor's "Nothing I Can Do" and Feist's "Mushaboom"

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:


-happier or sadder? Oh so much happier.
-thinner or fatter? Fatter, but I have a good reason.
-richer of poorer? Financially poorer (see number 14), but it's all totally worth it.

18. What do you with you'd done more of?


Go on special, out-of-the-ordinary dates with David.  We tried to squeeze in as many of these as we could in the weeks before Molly was here, but knowing that our one-on-one time will be seriously diminished in the immediate future, I wish we'd taken better advantage of the remaining time we had alone.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?


Staying home.

20. How did you spend Christmas?


At the hospital marveling over my beautiful daughter with my amazing husband.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?


I apologize for sounding sappy, but yes.  I am more in love with my husband than ever before and I fall a little bit more in love with Molly every single day.

22. What was your favorite TV program?


Lost, especially because David and I are equally obsessed with it. I also began to love (perhaps to the point of obsession) Bones.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?


No, but I try to avoid hate altogether.

24. What was the best book you read?


This is an impossible question for me to answer.  Too many possibilities.  Some favorites (for various reasons) include Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood, Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, Ian McEwan's Saturday, and Nicole Krauss' The History of Love.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?


With credit to David, I really enjoyed the podcast Acoustic Long Island, through which I discovered Ben Taylor.

26. What did you want and get?


A baby. A relatively easy pregnancy. A medicine-free delivery.

27. What did you want and not get?


Work done on my dissertation.

28. What was your favorite film of the year?


I honestly have no idea what I even saw. The first thing that comes to mind is Away We Go, which I thought was brilliant - though that opinion might have been influenced by the fact that I was pregnant when I watched it.  Also, I absolutely love John Krasinski (but it's okay because I also think he looks a lot like David).

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?


Because my birthday fell right at the same time that I was taking my comps, it was a quiet one for my 27th - dinner with my husband, and it was exactly what I wanted.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?


Not having to teach and, therefore, being able to concentrate more on my dissertation.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion style in 2009?


Pre-pregnancy: comfy professional (I went through a major cardigan period)
Post-pregnancy: make it work. I had a hell of a time finding maternity clothes that fit well (they were all too long until the last month of so of my pregnancy), so I found myself searching for non-maternity clothes that worked for my pregnant body.

32. What kept you sane?


My husband, encouraging me to have fun more regularly and helping me to remember what really matters.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?


I, like so many others, was enthralled by Barack Obama.  I cried when he won the election (though, I know, that was in 2008) and again when he was inaugurated.  No, he hasn't been perfect.  No, he hasn't made every decision I would have wanted him to make.  But I am still immensely proud that he is our President.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?


See #13.

35. Who do you miss?


My dad, who would have been an excellent grandfather.

My many Kentucky friends, especially those who have had babies recently. I have such an amazing support group of new parents. Unfortunately, they all lives hours and hours away.  I'd love it if we all lived close by so that our kids could  grow up together.

My family. I didn't have much extended family when I grew up, so I always wanted my children to grow up close to their grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins.  But for now, we live at least 8 hours away from our family.  Hopefully our next move will bring us closer to them, though.

36. Who was the best new person you met?


Definitely Molly.

37. Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2009.


Don't focus so much on the future that you forget to pay attention to the here and now.  Make your life what you want it to be today.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"But in the meantime we've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard.
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay.

...

I got a man to stick it out
And make a home from a rented house, oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done, oh."

2009 was a crazy year, full of tons of first, of both the expected and unexpected variety.  But never before have I felt so loved and so lucky, despite the hard patches scattered throughout the year. I can't wait to see the unexpecteds that 2010 holds.