2008 - The Year In Review

Seeing all the best-of lists and retrospectives inspired me to make one of my year. It's not going to be pretty; it's been Not A Good Year around here. But I am compelled to make the list anyway, to reflect, see how things went wrong, and fervently hope for a better 2009.

January

We started the year off with a trip to Texas, during which I was reminded why one does not take vacations the first week of the new year. I ended up working an annoying amount during the week. I also watched Georgia be insulted by being matched up against Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl- a great bowl, lousy matchup, as Georgia mopped the floor with the Rainbow Warriors.

The end of the month found me in New York, where I helped close a deal and pitched the idea of a transfer to the firm's NYC office. The idea was met with great enthusiasm by the NY personnel, with whom I had a great relationship. There was nothing to do but wait for the transfer to be approved.


February

In early February, the firm told me It's Just Not That Into Me, as the department denied my transfer. I still don't really understand the reasoning, though I have been told several things and have my own suspicions. I took it hard, like a romantic breakup, and embarrassed myself in June when I saw my NY colleagues again, had a drink or two too many, and spent too long going on about how unfair it was.

March

We had been kicking the second baby question around for awhile, and in the wake of the disappointment from the denied transfer, we decided to go ahead and go for it. I was hoping to take a longer maternity leave this time, and with no career speedbumps in the way, now seemed as good a time as any.

April

We spent a week in the Outer Banks for the second year in a row. The house we rented was great, except for that whole porch swing incident that caused my mother-in-law's already fragile back to go out again. The weather was awful, gray and cold, but it was nice to get away. Except that I couldn't get away, and once again, ended up working on vacation. I also started actively losing weight with Weight Watchers in April, and ended up dumping 15 pounds before getting pregnant.

May

May might have been the best month of the year for us. Reading back over the blog posts, all I see are good times at the Renaissance Festival, out of town in the mountains, hiking and gardening and watching the baby grow into a little kid. We did a lot of walking for errands; it soon after that got too hot to walk around in the evenings. Bruce also had a birthday at the end of May, turning a respectable 36.

June

June found me in NY again on business (where I embarrassed myself as I mentioned above) and pregnant! Woo-hoo, El Segundo! June was also the last time I had a busy month at work.

July

July saw us at the top of the world in Alaska. We had a wonderful vacation with Caetlin, despite the distance and the time change and everything. She did great, we had a great time, my occasional morning sickness notwithstanding (it made some parts of our wildlife cruise pretty miserable), we saw some amazing things like a glacier and whales and the Arctic Ocean. We also saw my good friend Devon (now blogging here), whom I had not laid eyes on in nearly ten years. How's that for crazy? She was my best friend in college and we lost touch when she moved out west, and I Google stalked her for years before tracking her down (thank goodness her current employer posts pictures on its website!). I can't tell you how much it meant to me that we got to reunite, and it was wonderful, and her husband is great, and her baby is adorable, and she's having another baby the same time as me! She's hilarious as ever, and the main thing I hate is that she's in Alaska which is a seriously great place but much too far away for convenient visits.

August

In August, Caetlin turned the big 2, and my family made their semi-annual visit to our house. My in-laws came along as well, from Texas. There was cookie cake and burgers on the grill, and I think we all had fun.

Also, it was hot, and I had nothing to do at work.

September

In September, I turned the big 3-2, which my sister forgot for the second year in a row. We also had a scare with our first trimester screen of El Segundo, which showed a 20% chance that Segundo could have Down Syndrome. We underwent an invasive CVS, which is a procedure in which a small amount of tissue is taken from the placenta to be tested. The results showed that Segundo was normal and also that El Segundo was actually La Segunda- we are having our second girl. Bruce immediately began practicing calling his ladies to him: "Wimmenfolk! Come here!"

October

In October, I resorted to writing blog posts at work to keep myself awake, and we discovered I had a low-lying placenta after I had some second-trimester spotting. This turned out to be less serious than first imagined, and probably will clear itself up in time for a normal delivery. October was also the month that Bruce was approached about a possible position with one of our firm's Japanese clients. For awhile, it looked like a done deal; we would be moving to Tokyo. Then the economy collapsed there as well as here, and the need for people like Bruce apparently collapsed with it. It was yet another professional disappointment.

Also, Caetlin was a lion for Halloween. And the Georgia Bulldogs broke my heart, not just losing but embarrassing themselves against the Florida Gators. They would go on to match up against Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2009.

November

In November Bruce and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, and I actually had work to do for once! I kept myself pretty busy working and being pregnant, and November is when the Tokyo thing really fell apart. For Thanksgiving, we visited my friend Kelley in the town I grew up in, and Caetlin vomited for perhaps the second time ever. Bruce was involved in maybe the worst deal ever at work, which maybe should have been a harbinger or something. I entered the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy.

December

Well, in December, I worked my pregnant tuchus off, and we tried getting ready for Christmas. I got into a (still-running) feud with my sister and dad. I spoke about some things I've been angry about for years, and my dad's response was to be angry and deny that I have a right to feel the way I do, and my sister's response was to be hurt and deny that I have a right to feel the way I do. Also, she blamed my anger on my pregnancy, for which I may never forgive her. Now I've apparently been downgraded to a High Holy Day Relative, in which they do not contact me except on Christmas. Presumably that will also include the usual holidays- Thanksgiving, Easter. Not sure about second tier holidays like Memorial Day or July 4th. It may or may not include birthdays (see September of this year). Who knows? It's a brave new world of family relationships for me.

And finally, the crowning glory of the year- the job loss. As I mentioned before, the details are unclear. Also unclear is what the laid-off one will do instead. They are considering an industry change entirely. There is one last Hail Mary to be had at the firm, and we will be trying that next week, as well as getting the likely separation details.

And there was Christmas. I cooked, and we had a lovely quiet four days with Caetlin. This week is shaping up to be similarly quiet.

So there you have it. The 2008 year in review. It's kind of depressing, but all we can do is look to the future. We kick off 2009 with a far-too-short visit from Devon and her son, and a longer visit from Bruce's newly-retired parents. Also an ultrasound next week, and a baby girl in March. And most likely firing the nanny, starting Caetlin in day care, and a job search. More frugality, less security. The Steelers in the playoffs. A little bad, a little good. Hopefully the good will outweigh the bad this year. It's hard to see how it couldn't be an improvement on 2008.