It was the year of fire… the year of destruction… the year we took back what was ours. It was the year of rebirth… the year of great sadness… the year of pain… and the year of joy. It was a new age. It was the end of history. It was the year everything changed. Babylon 5
There may not have been fire and destruction, but 2010 was definitely a year that everything changed for our family.
The biggest change was, of course, Ryan’s new job. He had been at CPH for four years, so it was an adjustment for him to have a job elsewhere. It was also an adjustment for that “elsewhere” to be at home. When he is home, that is–because another change that came with his job is a lot of travel. He spent about five weeks on the road this year, which isn’t a lot for many business travelers, but was huge for us. He even traveled internationally, which was also new. His job has been a great blessing to our family, and the fact that he no longer has a commute, which means less money spent on gas, and our ability to downsize to one car, has been awesome.
The aforementioned downsize to one car has also been a big change. It doesn’t sound like it should be, with Ryan working from home now, but there have been times where he would need to go one place, and the children and I would be wanting to go somewhere else. Or two children with activities in two different places at the same time–how’s that supposed to work? But it has mostly worked, and it’s actually kind of a relief to only have one vehicle to worry about.
Turkey really changed his mind about reading this year. He’s been a good reader ever since he learned how, and he hadn’t minded doing it when it was required, but he never really chose to do it for fun, either. Sometime over the course of the year, though, he realized that reading can be a fun way to pass some time, and even realized that just because there are a lot of words (and no pictures!) on a page, that doesn’t mean that the book is intrinsically more difficult to read. This was a great relief to me, because I was worried he would never want to read “just for fun.”
Bunny had to change levels in Girl Scouts, which doesn’t sound like much of change, but was big for her. She loved being a Daisy, but only got to do it for one year, (they go by grade level instead of age, and I didn’t realize that in time to have signed her up back when she was in Kindergarten). So, she only got to be a Daisy for her First Grade year, and she was kind of reluctant to become a Brownie once Second Grade started. It didn’t take her long to realize that being a Brownie is just as fun as being a Daisy, though–and sometimes even more fun, as there are more activities available!
It was a year of great change for Moose, too. He goes to school in the afternoons this year, instead of in the mornings like he did the previous two years. He also has a new teacher this year, which is a yearly change he’s just going to have to get used to. But the biggest change is how much continued improvement we see in him. He’s a regular little chatterbox now, so much so, that it’s hard to remember that just two years ago, he couldn’t talk.
Ladybug also saw a big change this year, as she got glasses. Now she can actually see, and we’re beginning to realize just how much trouble she must have been having before she got them. She also stopped looking like a baby, and now looks more like a big kid–it hurts my mommy heart a bit, but time marches on!
As for me, well my biggest change was realizing I can handle things when I need to. From mowing the lawn, even when Ryan is out of town on business, (which is no easy feat when also trying to supervise four children!), to handling things when he was in the hospital (which I hope to never have to do again!), I found strength and ability in myself I didn’t know I had.
It’s been a crazy, busy, wonderful year–and I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2011!