2009

This past year was truly great. It wasn't great because of any major life-changing events, it was great because of the lack thereof. As I look back on the past decade, as so many people are doing this time of year, I realize that some huge life change happened to me almost every single year during the 2000s. In 2000 I was a college senior in Southern California, and 10 years later I'm a wife, mother, and homeowner living all the way across the country. And I've had two different careers, three if you count stay-at-home-motherhood.

So, like most people my age, I have experienced a lot of changes in the past decade. But none of those changes happened in 2009. It was just a nice, calm, stable year. And I'm a girl who loves stability almost to the point of boredom, so 2009 was my year.

I also feel that in 2009 ... Well, I can't think of any nicer way to say it than that 2009 was the year I got my shit together. I felt like I was floundering ever since Nathan was born, both in terms of actual, legitimate depression and the more run-of-the-mill "my life is over" syndrome that comes after having your first child. But this past year, I feel like we got into a better groove. A lot of it was getting to be a stay-at-home mom, which I had a brief lead-in to in 2008 but got to do for the entirety of 2009. I can't believe staying home has been such a good fit for me, because I would never have predicted that. But it has just been great for my marriage, my parenting, and my overall mental/physical health.

Speaking of which, I am proud to say that I went to the gym more times in 2009 than in any other year of my life. That count may even include middle school, when "gym" was a required class. Anyway, I finally discovered that I need exercise to manage my depression, and then after joining Weight Watchers mid-year I needed exercise even more. And speaking of Weight Watchers, I managed to stay on it for almost the entire second half of 2009. That is my longest WW run ever, and I'm still going. (Of course, I could argue that I'm only going to be on it for so long because I let myself become a huge fat-ass this time around, but I'm staying positive for this post.)

I credit my gym success partially to the fact that they have a daycare, which means it provides a nice indoor change of scenery for Nathan and a break for me. Between my gym classes and Nathan's activities, our days and weeks had a really nice rhythm to them. Nathan did several sessions of toddler music class at the park district, plus library story hour, a monthly nature class, and swimming lessons. In addition to my gym activities, I took a cooking class on pizza, attended a one-day floral arrangement lesson, did aquacize in the summer, and briefly attempted ice skating lessons.

Some fun places our family attended in 2009 were: The Museum of Science and Industry, Brookfield Zoo, Bourbonnais Exploration Station, Frankfort Children's Museum, Kohl Children's Museum, Art Institute, Millennium Park, Lake Katherine, the Midwest Gaming Classic in Wisconsin, the Morton Arboretum, Shedd Aquarium, the Children's Museum of Oak Lawn, family reunion in Ohio, Key Lime Cove Waterpark Hotel, Rainforest Cafe, Lamb's Farm, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Hawaii, Day Out with Thomas, Cubs game, County Line Orchard, Bengston's Pumpkin Fest, Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier, and various California-based activities.

Plus we were regulars at the park, the mall, the JCC, the pool, and the splash pad.

I will end with a 2009 personal "best of."

Best book: Well first, let me say I read more books in 2009 than I have in any other year in recent memory. In February I read the Twilight saga, and while that was just a massive addiction, it was also almost troubling how those books took over my life. But I do credit Twilight for reminding me that it's okay to blow off the rest of my life for reading sometimes. Another series of books I liked was the Hunger Games series. But my absolute favorite book I read in 2009 was The Help.

Best new TV show: Community, because Joel McHale is hot.

Best movie: This one was hard for me. I couldn't even remember what movies I saw, so I looked back on my Netflix history. And when I looked at it, I couldn't pick a favorite. Not because I liked so many, but because I was sort of lukewarm on so many. But here are some movies on that list that I liked: He's Just Not That Into You, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The Secret Life of Bees, Sunshine Cleaning, and Julie & Julia. I also want to give a shout-out to Ponyo, which was Nathan's first movie in the theater and was super cute, plus also starred my girl crush Tina Fey as one of the voices.

Best moment: Falling asleep the first night in Hawaii, a $15 mai tai coursing through my bloodstream, listening to the waves crash with my sleeping child curled up next to me.

Best accomplishment: Going to the gym every single day in March.

Happy New Year, everyone!