Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009.
Beginning a new year is wonderful. I love that fresh feeling of starting over and making new habits and resolving to be better. It’s exciting to look back on everything you accomplished in a year and look forward to where you will be at the end of the next.
We don’t, however, do much in the way of exciting New Years celebrations. The year Jacob got home from his mission he planned to be in Utah for NYE, but it didn’t work out. The next year was 06, the first year we were married, and I spent NYE glued to the last chapters of Twilight. True story. (I blame Sarah.) Last year we were asleep in San Diego, in preparation for our very early morning flights the next day. And now this year Jacob is flying home to NYC at 11:55. I just dropped him off at the airport. I have to say, I think NYE is a little overrated.
I can’t say I’m exactly sad to see the end of 08. It’s been a crazy year with more ups and downs than I can number. I’m happy to move on to new things. Because so much has happened this year I need to look back on it all and do some reflecting as I ponder the changes I want to make in 09.
Here’s the highlights (we don’t really need to dwell on the lowlights, do we?) of 2008:
January
- We rang in the New Year with a wonderful visit with Jacob’s family in sunny San Diego.
- President Hinckley passed away (This isn’t exactly personal but it felt personal.)
February
- Made a quick weekend trip to NYC with Chloe and Sarah. Never ever did I think when I went that I would end the year living there. I’m grateful we went and had such a wonderful time so that when we decided to go I’d had a good experience there.
- Went all out on a Pioneer Woman style Valentine’s Day dinner for Jacob. I hate to say that it’s unusual enough to be a highlight of the year, but it really is. Jacob bought Rock Band for me (US!) and it’s been tons of fun.
- Read the first paragraph of this entry to remember how I was feeling about the uncertainty of our future at this point.
- Enjoyed seeing Joshua Radin and Ingrid Michaelson in concert.
March
- Having a Cohort student from BYU. Sometimes difficult but I’m glad I had the opportunity to do it once before I left.
- Celebrated Jacob’s 24th birthday with a day out in Salt Lake, and then a visit from the Lauberts (miss you guys!)
- Jacob went to NYC to interview for his number one school.
- I won tickets to a Ben Folds Five concert. I never win things!
April
- Jacob was accepted as a student at his top choice, Touro, in NYC.
- We spent a week in NYC with Candice and Mark.
May
- We celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Time flies when you’re spending it with the love of your life.
- My heart broke when I packed up my classroom and left teaching behind for the foreseeable future. (No kidding I got all teary-eyed again just reading that post.)
June
- Heidi and I started our business, Second Story Window.
- Made a quick visit to see Lori and Paul in California. This is seriously one of my favorite memories from this year. It was a totally laid back visit and I just treasured the chance to spend time with them. I adore them both and count myself very lucky to have them as friends.
- Spent a weekend babysitting our nieces while Heather and Nikolay were looking for a place to live in PA.
- Got to see my BFF Laura for a little while when she was in town. Believe it or not, after all these years, I still think of her constantly and miss her like crazy.
- Hung out with Heidi.
July
- Hung out with Heidi some more. I guess this isn’t really a milestone but I was seriously eating up every second with her before we moved. We went to the gym, did projects, worked on the shop, played with kittens, and she kept me company watching Doctor Who with me while I packed.
- Jacob went to NYC again to find us an apartment.
- Decided to sell all our stuff and fly to New York and save money on the truck. Best decision ever.
- Took what was left of our belongings (besides my classroom and holiday stuff that was in storage) and drove away from Utah with lots and lots of tears (on my part.)
August
- Visited Grammy and the Cottrells in IA on the way to New York.
- Spent a few days in Milwaukee.
- Arrived in NYC to start our new life. The first few weeks were so surreal.
- Celebrated my 24th birthday.
- Enjoyed visits from Jacob’s sisters Heather and Rebekah and their families on different weekends.
- Went to Coney Island before it was closed and saw the filming of an episode of Ugly Betty.
September
- Adjusted to life in the Big Apple
- Participated in our first Oh Sweet Sadie boutique (although Heidi had to do all the work since I don’t live in Utah anymore)
- Went to a taping of Martha Stewart with Sarah, Candice and Kim.
- Had the terrifying experience of an apartment invaded by mice. I’m permanently scarred.
- Left the city and enjoyed a beautiful day in the country picking apples for Candice’s birthday!
October
- Enjoyed a visit from KP
- Mom and Heidi came to visit and we went all over the city like crazy people. So glad they came.
- Visited Sleepy Hollow with my New York Family. Loved. It.
November
- Shareka came to visit me! I’m lucky to have a friend as wonderful as her.
- Went to the Colbert Report with Jacob and saw Paul Simon!
- Spent Thanksgiving with the Lauberts and the Miners in Boston. So lucky to have family nearby. Fell in love with the city.
December
- Counting down Christmas traditions on my blog.
- Jacob passed anatomy, which is monumental.
- Peter got married (and though I wasn’t able to attend, it is still an important milestone and Jacob did get to go!)
- Enjoyed a beautiful white Christmas.
- Spent (and am still spending..) 3 1/2 weeks at home in Utah with my family and friends and having lots of extra time for Jacob (for the middle part of the trip). This is just what I needed.
When you break it down like that, the year doesn’t seem so long, does it?
I won’t lie, this has been a rough year for me. I try not to put that out on my blog too much but there it is. But there were still so many positive things that happened this year. And at the end of the year, after all the trials and heartache we can say that we’re all ok. We have each other. We have the gospel and our testimonies are as strong as ever. We know that the Lord is mindful of us, even, and especially, when times are rough. We know that the most important thing in life is family and wonderful friends who sometimes fill in as family. We can move forward each day with hope and determination to make the best of our situation. We’ll be just fine.
Happy New Year.
You will be just fine. Extraordinary people come out okay.
You’re totally right, Emily. The Lord is mindful of us.
I just found out that while I haven’t lost my job, I’m about to be making significantly less than I did last year, because of the awful economy. I cried and cried, then I realized that God’s got his eye on me and he always has.
And you. Hope your New Year is fabulous
this definitely was an eventful year for you guys! i’m glad you’ve adjusted to NYC living.
hang in there EK! ((hugss)) 2009 will surely be better. I can [probably] somewhat relate to some of the feelings you’ve had this year. moving away from my family and familiarity to places I’d never even been has been some of the hardest things I’ve had to do these past 5 years. but, I know it has made me stronger and better, and is all a part of the bigger plan. your post made me think of one of my fav verses…
“The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want;
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord forever.
Psalm 23
Thanks for a year of good blog posts to read.
Hope 2009 is the best ever!
I love your recounting of 2008! You have such a postive way of looking back on things – putting a little polish on goes a long way. Thank you
Wait… meeting me wasn’t one of your highlights? JUST KIDDING! You had one busy year- and I’m sure 2009 has great things in store for you!
I’m glad the Doctor made your list. :0p
I hope 2009 offers smoother sailing and fewer anatomy tests!
What a beautiful way to re-cap the years events. Sounds like you have been through and seen a lot? I have a cousin who lives in Brooklyn and I would love to go visit. Maybe I will see you, while I’m in the big city, walking around looking at the sites. Good luck in the new year. BTW, did you know that you were in CK Magazine, at least your business name was. It was Oct or Nov. Someone gave you credit for your vinyls, and they were great. Happy Holidays!!!
We LOVED having you come and visit. I am glad you enjoyed how lame I was a hostess;) It is great when you can get together with absolutely nothing planned and still have a blast! BTW, guess who is coming to NY afterall!
I am honored that I was part of your year. Now that the price of gas has gone down, I am totally planning on coming out to visit you more often. We are actually pretty close. I have noticed that for a while now, I have been fighting the change of moving to a new place, not wanting to like it here, being frustrated with our current temporary living conditions, that I have had a hard time enjoying it here. It all just clicked the other day when I decided to take the kids to the Philadelphia Zoo, like yeah it is an hour away, but that is how far Provo was from Salt Lake and that didn’t stop me from driving there. For me the distance thing has been hard, but learning to like new people (who talk funny
) or even wanting to like new people has been the hardest, like maybe if I ignore them they will magically turn into people that I know and am used to. I haven’t said much about how hard it has been, but it really has, and I didn’t expect it to be. Maybe you can relate.
Glad you enjoyed (are still enjoying) your break. what a busy and eventful year you had! i would be afraid to do that on my blog… my life is not nearly as productive or exciting as yours. wish you the best in 2009!!
Being so far from family is hard, especially with all the big changes that came – and it can’t help that your husband is super busy with school. You also had to say good bye to teaching, which still breaks my heart when I think about it, even though it has been 6 years for me. You have good reason to have had heartache. However, from what I have seen, you are trying to stay positive, involved in life, and are taking advantage of your new situation. Good luck, and know that even though the trials still come, you get stronger after every one. ((hugs))
I really enjoyed reading about your year in a nutshell! Hey, if you can think of a great embarrassing story to share, you can try to win a movie ticket and some candy on my blog!
Call me sometime!