Thursday, January 21, 2010

Looking back at the last decade

I really wanted to write another book review today as they seemed to be piling up, but this sounded like more fun to do. I'm a little fuzzy on some of the years, but I think I've got most of it right. I think it's always fun to take a little walk down memory lane. I have such a bad memory in general, that without pictures or this blog, I wouldn't have been able to get anywhere. I do apologise for all the photos of just me. N doesn't like having his photo published on my blog! Here is a brief round-up of my life from the last decade:

2000 - This was a big year for me. N came to visit me twice, once in March, once in July. In July, we flew down to Los Angeles where we had interview before the British High Commission who were responsible for issuing me with a visa to move to England. Whilst in LA, we went to Disneyland, where N proposed. It was a very happy day. From there, we flew to Seattle and stayed in this beautiful little bed and breakfast. I turned 18 and N took me out for dinner where I had Indian food for the first time. In early August, I moved to England. N and I rented a flat of our own and planned our wedding, which occurred on 2nd December. We flew to Scotland for our honeymoon. The photo is of me on the morning of my wedding, getting dressed.

2001 - Soon after we were married, we gave up our flat and moved in with my MIL and soon after, my SIL moved in as well. It was a very full house and there were quite a few problems. I had been very depressed since before the wedding with all the changes happening around me (hence not looking quite so happy in that photo!), but I soon found a part-time job in WHSmith. It started off as an afternoon job refilling the shelves of the stationery department but over time, I ended up full-time at the front tills, before finally ending up where I belonged in the book department. Meanwhile, N and I made our first large purchase, which was a large screen TV. If I recall correctly, this was the year I started learning to drive, though I think it'd be at least another year before I passed my test and another few years before I'd actually, you know, drive.

2002 - What I remember most about 2002, is that N and I took a trip to Hawaii. We had originally planned on flying to New York, but after 9/11 we decided we really wanted to go someplace very multi-cultural. Hawaii it was then. It was an amazing trip - the photo is of my dad and me at the end of a luau. I believe that 2002 is the year that I started studying with the Open University. I'd wanted to start studying again for awhile by this point but wasn't sure how to go about it. My first OU course was An Introduction to the Humanities which covered literature, history, art history etc. It was interesting, if not exactly where I wanted to be going. My SIL got married this year. And if I'm not mistaken, 2002 was the year we bought our first house. A little two bedroom terraced house on a busy road. It had a basement that we turned into a games room, with a foosball table and a pool table. One day, N convinced me to go with him into Central London to 'meet up with a friend' instead he surprised me with tickets to an Enrique Iglesias concert!

2003 - 2003 is one of those lost years. I can't quite recall anything for sure about it. I think that was the year that my dad came to stay with us for 3 months. If it was, then this same year I interviewed at Books Etc and was given the job! I was very excited to go work for a proper bookstore. I miss that job at Books Etc. The people I worked with were awesome, I loved looking after the children's department, being surrounded by books and people who love books. Oh! I turned 21 this year. That December, N and I went to Prague on holiday.

2004 - Another lost year. I believe this is when I decided to take my university studies into a different direction. After studying humanities in 2002, I studied literature. I couldn't find much enthusiasm for the course and I wasn't sure a degree in Literature was what I was really after. So instead, I switched over to a first year Law course. It turned out to be very different to what I was expecting.

2005 - For Chinese New Year, this year, we went into London and I was nearly trampled over in a huge crowd in Soho (photo taken before this!). Early in 2005, N and I finally took our trip to New York City that we'd been planning on for so long. What I remember most about NYC is that we bought a lot of things and N wouldn't let me carry anything. I remember this fantastic little boutique we stumbled across by accident. We went down and had a really great conversation with these two friendly women in there who kept asking us really personal questions. We explained that it would be N and my 5th wedding anniversary this year and they both exclaimed 'oh, now all you need is a baby' and we were able to say, 'actually, I'm about 8 weeks pregnant!' And in November, my beautiful Oldest was born. A happy year, 2005.

2006 - This was a very busy year. We decided that our cute little terraced house was not going to be big enough for our emerging family, so we decided to put our house on the market and look around for a larger, family home. At the same time, I was struggling as new mom and wanted to remember all my other hobbies and interests aside from my gorgeous new child, so I started this blog. Fluttering Butterflies has kept me sane these last four years and I don't know what I'd do without it! Meanwhile, we found a house we liked, in a good town with good schools and upped sticks and moved. Around the middle of the year (May) I was admitted to hospital for acute pancreatitis.

2007 - My gorgeous nephew, C was born this year. And I have nothing else written down for this year. How sad is that? I know that Oldest and I were busy that year trying to make new friends in the neighbourhood. Going to toddler groups and coffee group and whatnot. It appears that very little else happened this year. How utterly sad. Briefly going through some of my blog archives, it appears this is the year I really started going for it on the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list. 3 years later, and I'm still working on it and having a great time. Oh yes, this is the year I was baptised and confirmed into the Catholic church. That'll do.

2008 - My lovely and perfect Littlest was born just days before N's birthday. I took Oldest for his very first haircut. I had contact from my mother for the first time in awhile but it only briefly lasted and I haven't heard from her since early 2008. I had to get used to life as a mother of two, as a family of four.

2009 - Last year, I started my first psychology course with the OU. We took a lovely family holiday to York. I spent an entire month doing something different every day. I'm still studying, still blogging, still reading. We took loads of day trips. We bought ourselves Merlin passes and an annual ticket to the zoo. We played in the garden at went to the park. Life with children...

And that is how I spent the last decade. How did you spend yours? If you create (or have already posted) something like this please let me know! I want to read it!

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for your trip down memory lane. I bet whilst looking back at the year after your wedding when you really depressed, you never thought how wonderful life would become.
    Such lovely memories.

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  2. What a fantastic post! It is great to see how your life has changeg in the last 10 years.

    My decade has been very similar to yours. I got married in 2001, had first boy in 2005, second in 2007. I wonder if our next decade will be similar?

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  3. What a delightful peek into your life! I am impressed you can remember each year so well! Having my kid fried my brain a little. Speaking of kids, whoah don't you guys have some seriously cute kids!!!!!

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  4. I'd struggle to remember my last decade - I was only 14 when it started and up until I was 16 I remember very little that was distinctly each year. It's so cool to see how your life has changed so much.

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  5. WOW your life in this decade is similar to mine in the 80's. Don't know that I could remember enough about this past decade to do a post like this. You did well and it was fun to read!

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  6. What a busy decade with lots of changes! And your smile just gets bigger and bigger. That's how it should go!

    This is a cool post idea. I might try it, if I can find suitable photos. Or maybe even if not.
    :-)

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  7. Loved all of the pictures! :)

    This was a decade in which I moved from England to the States, graduated high school, moved to a new part of the country for college, lived in Russia, graduated college, moved again for grad school, became an aunt, had my first serious relationship, etc., etc. Big decade for me! lol

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