My good friend Don (of donpottinger.net fame!) recently reached out with a challenge: complete and publish a "2019 year in review" before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. Not having finished a blog post in more than three years, I accepted immediately.
I've never done this before, so I sat down and did a 10-minute writing practice to get a starting point for the milestone events that stood out in my memory. Then I did a calendar review to see all the events I'd forgotten about. Here are the moments that shaped my year:
Arden Joins the Team
My wife KP and I welcomed our first child on August 19th. In preparation for her arrival, we enjoyed lots of little milestones along the way:
- First ultrasound on January 7th
- Gender reveal on February 16th
- Baby moon in Miami May 11th-16th
- Baby shower on June 2nd
- Childbirth class on June 22nd
- Maternity photos on June 28th
- LOTS of waiting
- Arden arrives on August 19th!
The first four months of parenthood need their own post, but let's just say there has been lots of laughter and tears on all sides.
Saying Goodbye to Geah
My last living grandparent, Geah, passed away in September at the age of 85. She meant the world to our family, and she had a real fire that I know we'll carry on with us. She also had a great sense of humor; I'm sure she would have laughed at Arden's trumpet fanfare of farts during her funeral service. You can read more about her in my Goodbye Geah post.
Westminster Athletic Hall of Fame and 10th Reunion
A week after Geah's funeral, I was inducted into the Westminster Athletic Hall of Fame. It is a tremendous honor to join such a talented group. You can read my speech for the induction ceremony here.
I've also been out of high school for 10 (!) years. For the first time, I volunteered on my high school reunion committee and loved catching up with classmates who have since moved across the globe. It also offered an opportunity to reflect on how thankful I am for the ways I've changed over the past decade.
Anniversaries
2019 brought many anniversaries. First (both chronologically and in significance), KP and I celebrated five years of marriage in June with a phenomenal meal at the Optimist, with some delightful mocktails and pregnancy-approved seafood.
In July, I crossed the four year mark as a Terminator (an employee of Terminus), and was promoted to Senior Software Engineer in September.
Also in July, we hit our one year anniversary as homeowners! And we felt it. Last December, we got a call from our neighbors while we were out of the country on a ski trip (well, skiing for me, vomiting in the lodge for KP).
"Hey buddy, I just wanted to let you know that that big tree in your front yard fell down and crushed your car. It also burst the water line, so we got that turned off for you."
"Did it hit the house?" I asked. Flatten might have been a better verb (it was a very large tree), but I leaned optimistic.
"Luckily it doesn't seem to have really hit the house too bad, but your silver honda is totaled."
Fortunately for me, the silver honda was a 2004 civic, and was on its third transmission. God was just nudging me to buy KP that SUV she'd been wanting over the minivan I'd been pushing for. All in all, we were lucky that the tree only took out one of our cars and zero of our houses. KP did have to deal with this for ~7 months, though:
Coaching Sabbatical
This year, I served as an assistant coach for the Westminster diving team, and continued coaching with Atlanta Diving Association after the high school season ended. As I've written about before, I love diving and am forever indebted to it. That said, I made the personal (and difficult) decision to take an extended sabbatical of unknown duration from coaching at the end of May to prepare for Arden. I hope to return to the pool deck in the future, possibly as a coach, or a parent, or a fan.
Rapid-Fire Other Events
- Kristi graduated from Duke with a Master's of Science in Nursing
- KP completed her Yoga Teacher Traning (WHILE PREGNANT)
- Organized and hosted a "personal mission statement" weekend with one of our favorite couples
- Went to a bachelor party in Austin for a close friend
- Reconnected with college Bible course friends in Louisville for Memorial Day weekend
- Entered a Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament
- Decided to stop playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate (gives me the #grumpies)
- My dad gifted me a Big Green Egg and I've loved learning to grill
- Bought a trampoline (and assembled it on Arden's due date… luckily she was 2 days late!)
By The Numbers
- Weddings attended: 5
- Meals shared with family and friends: 45+
- Doctors appointments: 27+
- Books read: 19. Here are a few noteworthy ones:
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- Everybody Always by Bob Goff
- Educated by Tara Westover
- Movies seen (in theaters): 27. Here are a few memorable ones:
- Avengers: Endgame (mostly satisfying)
- Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (mostly disappointing)
- Yesterday (good fun if you like the Beatles)
- John Wick 3 (insane. Love Keanu)
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Tarantino)
In Summary
2019 has been a transformative year for me. We welcomed new life into the world and lost loved ones. We celebrated triumphs and faced bitter disappointment. Sometimes growth is painful (just ask Arden!). I'm grateful for the challenges I've faced in 2019, and excited to move into 2020 with renewed mission and purpose to love my growing family of three as well as I can.
Bonus After Credits Scene: Looking Ahead
On the close of another year (and another decade), I want to ask myself a question: Would I trade places with myself a year ago, given the opportunity? To say yes is to admit defeat, to accept that I haven't grown in the ways I care about, that I haven't had a positive trajectory. My answer is definitely no, despite life being simpler this time last year, and I want to say no next year too. What can I do to make sure that the me waiting at the end of 2020 is someone worthy of trading places with? How do I want to increase, and how do I want to decrease? Maybe I'll write some answers to these questions in 2020, if I can convince Don to keep nudging me.
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