Decade in Review

A friend of mine posted a "decade in review" blog. I thought it was a good idea so I'm going to attempt it. I'll try to keep it short.

2000: Israel...the van...Alex

When the year 2000 began, my advanced TV Production class at Gainesville High School prepared to produce another video for the Universal Studios High School Video Competition. We had made the semi-finals for the second year in a row and would be shooting a video on the Universal backlot. This period was the peak of my best years of teaching...the competition, traveling to Orlando to shoot the video, winning for a second year in a row...it was all more fun than I could have ever imagined. That summer, though Cristina was "heavy with child," we went to Israel with my parents for Baha'i Pilgrimage. After a few days in Chicago, we came back to Gainesville where my friend Steve came to visit from Scotland, staying at our house. We went to our 10 year high school reunion, which was the first time in 8 years that all 4 of my best childhood friends and I were together. And unfortunately we haven't been together since then. About a week before Alex was born, we bought our Honda Odyssey. A 1997 model, it had about 35,000 miles on it. We're still driving it today (166,000 and counting). And then our second child was born. My hands, with the midwife's, lifted him up out of the water and put him on his mama's chest. Sofia had a brother. In the fall, my class made it into the semi-finals again, in what would turn out to be the final year that Universal held the competition.

I said I was going to keep this short, but so far I havent been too successful. But 2000 was a really big year. Some of the others will be shorter.

2001: Costa Rica without Cristina

After winning 1st place our first year in the competition, and 2nd place the second year, we came in 3rd place this year. A slight disappointment, but I was happy we placed. That summer, Alex was too young to go to Costa Rica (we had delayed his immunizations) so I went with Sofia. It was the first time I had gone without Cristina. We spent 2 weeks with Cristina's father, Ramon, and her sister, Elena. Other than bringing Sofia home with a case of head lice, it was a successful trip. In the fall, after some crazy people flew a couple of planes into some tall buildings, Universal Studios pulled the plug on the video competition. It knocked the wind out of my advanced kids, whose lives had revolved around the competition for the past 3 years. And, I must admit, it sparked my slow decline in enthusiasm for teaching TV Production.

2002: Germany...Alex's first trip to Costa Rica...New York City

Ramon and I went to the Orange Bowl to watch Florida beat Maryland. It turned out to be Spurrier's last game as coach of the Gators. He resigned a few days later. In March, Cristina went to Germany with toddler Alex, her mom, and sister. It was her first trip back since being an exchange student there in high school. With Alex's first round of immunizations, we were ready for a trip to Costa Rica...our first as a family of four. We spent about 6 weeks in Grecia with Ramon. It was our third World Cup summer in Costa Rica, though we came home before it was over. I flew to New York to sing in Carnegie Hall with a massive Baha'i choir, along with my parents and nephew. Steve came over from Scotland. Highlights for us both included staying in Brooklyn with my senior year prom date, sneaking into the Guggenheim during some kind of benefit event, and watching the World Cup final game in some seedy breakfast diner. And singing in Carnegie Hall was cool too.

2003: Scotland...San Francisco

We spent 3 weeks in Scotland, visiting Steve. Still one of my all-time favorite traveling memories. A few days after returning to the States, we flew to San Francisco for a La Leche League Conference. We stayed with my friend Dom. Dom and Steve could hardly have lived farther away from each other, yet we visited them both in one summer. That's pretty cool. In the fall, I coached the varsity golf team, which was kind of weird, since I don't play golf. Sofia and Alex quickly developed a love of riding in golf carts.

2004: Biggest year since 2000...maybe bigger

Soon after 2004 started, we learned that my parents needed to sell the house we lived in. Cristina was a few months pregnant. As we started packing up the house and preparing for a move to Arizona (where Cristina wanted to eventually attend naturopathic medical school) my Crohn's symptoms began. I lost a lot of weight. My days at GHS waned and I ended my TV Production career with one last highlight: organizing and producing a district-wide student film festival. We had 2 hours worth of suitable entries and sold out 2 shows at the Hippodrome cinema. Even the media covered it. It was a perfect way to go out. Weeks later, Bella was born. I was such a pro by this point (ha ha) that I caught her by myself (though the midwife was right beside me) and lay her on Cristina's chest. Ten days later, my Crohn's diagnosis. And two weeks after that I drove a moving truck across country to our new apartment in Phoenix. The rest of the family flew out after I had some semblance of a functioning apartment up and running. I didn't even have a job yet. A few days before the school year started, Phoenix Prep Academy hired me to teach 7th grade Language Arts. A 16 mile commute into the heart of Phoenix, but a job's a job.

2005: IKEA...first house...PUHSD

A new subdivision being built a mile from the kids' school seemed just right for us, and in the early part of the year we signed up, locking in the price on our first house ever. Throughout the year, we visited the constuction site and watched it go from a dirt lot to a finished house. In March, I got a second job at IKEA, in the sofa department. The pay was lousy, but it was right across the freeway from our apartment and it gave us a discount on the furniture we wanted to buy for our new house. We didn't go anywhere that summer (except for a short trip to visit Dom in LA) so we could save up enough for the closing costs. Phoenix Union High School District hired me to teach 9th grade English at Trevor Browne High School. Now a 25 mile commute from the apartment, but I carpooled with the dance teacher, and the pay was better. House closed escrow on September 27. Cristina's dad made his one and only trip to Phoenix and was there when we got our keys. I carried Cristina over the threshold, even though it was a little cheesy. The new house was closer to work and we settled into the joys of living in our very own brand new house. I resigned at IKEA right before Thanksgiving.

2006: Another World Cup...must be time to go to Costa Rica

After struggling with my Crohn's for the better part of 2 years, I finally found the right medication and went into complete remission. We spent a long summer in Costa Rica, this time in Pavas, where we met Ramon's new wife, Maritza (Bella's first trip to CR). In September, Steve came to visit us with his girlfriend Laura. That makes 4 times Steve and I got together in this decade. Not bad!

2007: One last school...the Snip...first cross-country drive without a moving truck

We spent our tax refund getting the van overhauled in preparation for a summer trip to the east coast. I got the Snip to permanently freeze our family size at 5. Taught summer school for the first time, and discovered that it's the best gig. We drove to Florida, up to North Carolina, then up to Chicago for a La Leche League conference, then back to Phoenix. Best road trip ever. I finally got a transfer to South Mountain High School, the school I'd aimed to be at since first researching teaching in Phoenix back in 2004. Just a mile from the house, we now had the overall proximity that we always sought. Sofia switched schools, starting 6th grade at Arizona School for the Arts. I took Alex to the Gator Homecoming football game.

2008: Another cross-country trip...music and Mac

Our plans to do a big west coast excursion got messed up by my summer school schedule, so we settled on doing the east coast again. No jaunt to Chicago this time, but we drove to Florida and North Carolina again. Great trip. This time we had a GPS, which was lovely. DMS hired Cristina as a kindergarten assistant and Bella started pre-school. Later in the year, I took Alex and Bella to the Gator Homecoming game. 16 years after selling my bass guitar and amp for wedding money, I bought a new bass guitar and a used amp. Steve and I started writing and recording songs together again, first time in about 13 years. My aging PC just wasn't hacking it for music production, so I bought a MacBook.

2009: Germany...Costa Rica...preparations to move again

Cristina visited Marion in Germany over Spring Break, her first major trip without kids. Though a year early for the World Cup, we spent the summer in Costa Rica. Third year in a row of teaching summer school. Still a great gig that finances our summer trips. In the fall, we began earnestly planning for a move out of Arizona: either to Costa Rica, North Carolina, or Florida.

Wow. After typing this all up, it really seems to have gone by fast. What a decade! Overall, I'd say it was a great one. 2 of my 3 children were born, we've had an extended adventure in another part of the country, bought our first house, and traveled to Israel, Germany, Scotland, and Costa Rica, as well as a sizable portion of the United States. I can only imagine what surprises and treasures my next decade in review will hold.