2000 was probably the year of my most vivid memories from the past decade - both great and horrible. This is the year I think of when I think of the most pivotal point in my life or the year that completely rocked my foundation and everything I knew to be "true". In 2000, I graduated from college at UNC-Wilmington in May, Kevin graduated from NC State that same month, we both started our first "real" job out of college (I worked as a Public Information Specialist at Greensboro College & Kevin was a sales representative for BB Hobbs in SC), I rented a one-bedroom apartment in Greensboro (I had always had roommates & had never lived in Greensboro), got engaged to the man of my dreams on my parents' 28th wedding anniversary in late-July, found out just a week later over the phone from my future step-brother that my father had been unfaithful to my mother, had to be the one to tell my sister that our parents were separating and the reasons behind it (one of the hardest conversations I've ever had to have), went through the back & forth with my parents' marriage as they decided whether they were going to work things out or separate, started planning my wedding, our first niece Morgan was born, spent the first Thanksgiving and Christmas in my life with my parents not together, and my relationship with Kevin, my mother, and my sister grew tremendously due to the loss we all felt and experienced at the end of that year.
2001 brought about more personal changes and a refocusing for the future. I continued to work at Greensboro College until a few weeks before our July 28 wedding that year, we honeymooned in the Dominican Republic to the nicest resort we've ever been to before and since, tried French food and sushi for the first time, applied to two graduate programs (UNC-Greensboro and Univ of SC), was accepted into both, chose to stay in Greensboro and started a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies that August, Kevin started a new job in Winston-Salem, we hung out every weekend at Corbin's in Winston-Salem with our then best couple friends Randy & Bree, and met many great friends in graduate school.
2002 was a year spent of engulfing myself in my studies. I read more from August 2001 to May 2003 than I have ever read in my entire life. This year I developed a love of teaching on the college level as I was an independent teaching assistant, attended my first national academic conference (National Communication Association) in New Orleans, presented an autoethnographic paper at my first regional academic conference (Carolinas Communication Association), endured the panic of Kevin being laid off (mind you I was only making about $400 a month as a TA) and quickly bouncing back with a new job, worked my first part-time retail job over Christmas break at Don's Fine Jewelry in Clemmons, babysat for Bryson, Stirling, and McGill as much as I could in my spare time, and worked on Wednesdays and Sundays in the nursery at Jamestown United Methodist Church.
2003 was a year of moving and starting to forgive. My mom and I visited my sister in Spain for a few weeks (she was there studying Spanish abroad), I finished my graduate capstone/thesis and presented it to the faculty and my peers, I graduated from UNCG in May, we moved to Wilmington that same month, and I started a job as a Field Sales Representative with Newell Rubbermaid in June. I got to hang out with my sister more because for the first time since 1996 we lived in the same town. My father announced that he was getting remarried and I reconciled with my soon-to-be stepmother and her children, all of whom I had known as far back as I can remember. Our nephew, J.T. was born in October. Late 2003 brought about a change in job (they were eliminating my division at Newell Rubbermaid) and the possibility of moving to Buffalo, NY.
2004 is when life calmed down a bit and seemed to be much more stable and a new "normal". Instead of moving to Buffalo, we moved back to our hometown of Mocksville, lived in my Dad's "old" house (he and my step-mother had built a new home), I started what I considered to be a dream job as a Corporate Training and Development Specialist at Advanced Home Care in High Point, we bought our first home (a town home in River Oaks in Clemmons) that spring, and traveled frequently. Kevin started his second degree at High Point University in Finance and began work in banking for BB&T.
2005 and 2006 seem like a bit of a blur to me and frankly those years seem to run together. We had lots of fun things we did during those years - attending the golf U.S. Open Championship in Pinehurst, the ACC football championship in Jacksonville, FL, our first NASCAR race in Bristol, TN, etc. - and I was able to work some with Visa traveling to NFL market cities and helping to promote their financial literacy program with professional football players, inner-city kids, and politicians. Christmas 2005 we got our precious little dog, Charlie, who will always be our "first baby". I continued to work at Advanced Home Care and Kevin continued to work in banking for BB&T and Bank of the Carolinas. He also finished up his degree at High Point University. In July 2005, my mom married a wonderful man who treats her like a queen and who embraced my sister and I with such welcoming and loving arms. Mom, Nancy, and I traveled to NYC in November 2005 to see the city decorated for Christmas and to do some shopping. Kevin and I took our first trip out west to Denver, CO in November 2006 and promised each other that before we died we'd go see a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. My best friend, Amy, had her first child, Blake. We started attending and joined Hillsdale Baptist Church. Somewhere during these years we began trying to start a family and began to regularly visit doctors, fertility specialists, labs, tracking my cycle, "investing" in ovulation kits and pregnancy tests, taking fertility drugs, etc. In September 2006, we started down two very different roads - pursuing both in vitro fertilization and adoption. We decided that two children would be better than none! We did lots of praying and grew closer during those two years as we endured the heartbreak that infertility can cause. Those years were emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting.
2007 was undoubtedly one of the best years of our lives! Kevin turned 30 on January 5th and we celebrated by renting a huge house in the mountains for the weekend and inviting about 20 of our closest friends. In February 2007, we met Whit's birth mother for the first time, who was 5 months pregnant with Whit. From then until June 2007, we spent our time going to doctor's visits with her and preparing for Whit's arrival! Whit was born in June 2007, and that same month Kevin and I both changed jobs. I quit my job at Advanced Home Care and accepted a teaching position at Guilford Tech that would start that August. Kevin left the banking field to pursue his passion in agriculture and became a grain buyer for Lake Phelps Grain. I continued to work from home for Advanced Home Care on a contract basis developing online corporate training classes. One of my good friends from graduate school, Suzanne, had a baby, Sanna, just two days after Whit was born so we quickly arranged their marriage after they were just a few days old! Ha! I learned how to play and some of my friends started a once-a-month, Friday night Bunco group. Kevin started working with and volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and served on their board. We gave Kevin's parents front row tickets to see Paula Deen at the NC State Fair in Raleigh. I traveled to an ASTD conference in Alexandria, VA in October, and while I had spent the last 3 years traveling almost every week, now that Whit was born, that was such a hard trip to take! I definitely enjoyed being back on the "college schedule" of having long breaks and holidays! I started teaching our small group (Sunday school) class at Hillsdale Baptist. Kevin and I hosted the first annual "White Trash Christmas Bash". Kevin's mother kept Whit, along with my friend Amy's mom, Betsy, and we were so grateful that he didn't have to go to daycare.
2008 was another great year. Whit started a mothers morning out/preschool program at Bethlehem UMC in January and Tammy G. started keeping Whit, which was definitely an answered prayer. The 3 of us traveled to the NC mountains for a long winter weekend and I became the Piedmont Chapter of ASTD president in January. We traveled to Savannah, GA in February and Kevin was also baptized that month. Sadly, my Papa Vogler passed away on March 21 and he was my first grandparent to die. In April we had a girls trip to the beach to celebrate my friend Izzy's upcoming wedding. We also spent a wonderful weekend in the mountains with the couples from our small group class during a couple's marriage retreat. Whit was dedicated on Mother's Day at Hillsdale Baptist and we hosted a Mother's Day luncheon at our house afterward. I enjoyed one of the main perks of teaching at a community college and was able to have 3 months off that summer. I turned 30 in May and we celebrated again with a few couples at a house in the mountains. All of the girls spent one of the days at a spa relaxing and getting pampered. In July our second niece, Cayden, was born. I started and completed my first Bible study (Beth Moore's Daniel) that year and it not only changed my thinking and my faith, it hooked me on doing Bible studies. We celebrated Whit's first birthday with a giraffe-themed party in our backyard that June. Whit and I enjoyed several weeks at the beach that summer, hopping from beach house to beach house with various family members. In August 2008, I was able to start a work schedule of 4 days a week which made the job I loved even better! We started hanging out with some couples from church and participated in two groups that met on Friday nights. I also started participating in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). We continued to meet up with Suzanne and Sanna a few times a month for regular play dates. My step-sister (and really great friend), Erica, found out she was pregnant with twins that would be born in early 2009!
I want to reflect back on 2009 as well as look forward to 2010, but that will have to wait for another post. I've got just a few minutes before I must go kiss my husband at the stroke of midnight and ring in the new year!
Happy 2010 to you all!
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