A decade full of memories

When I think about 2009 and everything it included it's a bit overwhelming. And then if I dig even further and think about the last 10 years, I completely lose it. Honestly, to imagine myself in 2000, just a gal living in Raleigh, NC getting my feet wet with a career in public relations, enjoying weekends with Graham and Aunt Jenny (who used to cook up a mean breakfast!) seems like just yesterday. It’s really mind boggling that a decade has passed.

And as I’ve described before, I met Mike that same summer at a concert and I remember thinking to myself, “How did I never end up talking to this guy?? We grew up in the same hometown!” Crazy. And then of course, everything our life created after that point. I moved to Charlotte, we bought our very first home together, then later we tore it down and built our new home. We got our first dog together and then experienced such unbearable pain when we tragically lost Milo 3 months later. It took us some time but then we brought home another loveable greyhound named Jack who filled our hearts with so much joy for next 7 ½ years.

Throughout the last decade, the two of us traveled to see friends and family during some of the best trips ever. We saw the RedSox at Fenway (our first time ever at Fenway!), traveled to NYC to see friends and the RedSox (Mike braved the sea of Yankee fans and went solo a couple of times:), numerous trips to the best spot in Atlanta – Graham’s house in Midtown, back to Raleigh on countless occasions to see some of our best friends in the world Corinna and John, one of the most relaxing vacations ever in Mexico, on top of the super fun Fez wedding also in Mexico, then off to a far away island in the middle of no-where Canada for our “electricity and toilet free” excursion. And then of course, our perfectly planned (thanks to Mike!) honeymoon in St Martin, on top of numerous other road trips here and there including our surprise trip home to see family for Thanksgiving.

Some consider Mike and me pretty good planners. We’re both organized to a fault and honestly, by some measures, maybe a little boring. But that’s how we roll and to us, it’s a great way to live. These excellent planning skills mapped out our lives for the latter half of the decade when we got engaged, saved money to have our super fun wedding, then we saved money again to build our new home, all while getting pregnant and bringing our beautiful Eloise into the world. Yes, all of the above was perfectly planned. Our i’s were dotted and our t’s were crossed. And if we have anything to say about it, we’re glad we did it that way. Surprises aren’t the best for us whackos. Yes, we’re crazy, we know it:).

The past 10 years also included several weddings, lots of babies, many moves for friends and family and tons of memories created along the way. My mom now enjoys the life (and weather!) of a southerner living less than 15 minutes from us in Charlotte. Todd and Lena got married and then recently announced they are having a baby girl in 2010. Corinna met the best guy on this earth John (aside from Mike of course:) and together they battled cancer, built their dream home and now are expecting twins. Caren followed her dreams and moved to NYC to climb one heck of an impressive career ladder, and later moved to Columbus, got engaged and married a fantastic Minnesotan who sadly does not have a Canadian accent like his wedding party:). Andrea and Doug finished up school in Rochester and moved home and did so with the best 2 ½ year old little boy on this earth. We love you Brody! Graham moved from Raleigh to Atlanta, to NYC and back to Atlanta again bringing with him the determination and tenacity to enjoy life that I’ve admired about him ever since the day we first met in 6th grade. He’s now in love, also loving a new home and a new job and has ended his decade on the best note I could have ever wished for a best friend.

Val and Gary got married at the coolest spot in Western New York – the front porch of the Lenhart Hotel. Over the course of the following 2 ½ years, they brought two of the most beautiful babies into this world, Jake and Avery. Jen fell in love with Ryan who also happened to be living in Charlotte (I actually followed Jen here:), got married and had their little blue-eyed beauty Lilian Alyse, earlier this year. Kerry rekindled with the love of her life and moved to Vail, Colorado on a whim. As far as I’m concerned, that was one of the best decisions she ever made in her life. The love between Kerry and Gus was unlike any I’ve ever seen. Our hearts broke the day we heard about his tragic accident that killed our dear friend. We will never forget all the laughter he brought into our lives and more importantly, I will never forget the renewed sparkle he brought to my best friend Kerry’s eyes.

To wrap up my decade of memories, I must talk about the love of my life, Miss Eloise Claire Vail. There was a very long part of my life when I never thought I’d have kids. I never had the maternal instinct and certainly not the patience that all of my friends had with children. And at the time, Mike and I were on the same page. He was uncertain as well and we pledged to make that final decision after we got married. Bar none, bringing our beautiful baby into this world was the best decision we have ever made. That little girl brings more laughter and curiosity and love to my life than one person could possibly imagine. Not only did I end up with a maternal instinct (who knew?? lol!) but now it’s come to the point that the time I don’t spend with her, I miss her like crazy. Watching her grow and learn and discover is what I live for. I love what each day brings and the time I spend with her is something I cherish more than anything possible. I chose to leave my career (besides working a little part time:) and stay home with her and there is never a second that I have regret. Aside from Mike, Eloise is absolutely the most important person in my life and if it’s at all possible, my love for her grows by the minute.

And with that, I raise my glass to a decade where each of us took chances, we grew and prospered, we learned and we loved and we became better people because of it. Have a wonderful New Year and cheers to another decade as cram packed full of memories as the last!

Love,
Allison