2019: It was a doozy

I came across last year’s Christmas letter, and I had to laugh at this line: "I think 2018 was a year for us to breathe a little, because 2019 is going to be a doozy. “

I had no idea just what a doozy 2019 would be. So many changes, both expected and unexpected. Amazing, joyous celebrations and not-so-fun health issues. We had lots of endings and some amazing new beginnings—an unusual number of milestones in 12 short months. And so, here we go:

1. Randy and I celebrated 30 YEARS of marriage. 
THIRTY! All I can say is: I do, I do, I do.

2. The end of homeschooling. 
For 19 years we’ve been doing this. A whole career! These pictures still get me weepy: Duncan during his last week of school, curled up on the couch, reading, like hundreds of other days; Duncan and me on his last official day; and all three kids on our very last, last-day-of-school celebration. I could write pages and pages and pages about these nearly 2 decades of homeschooling, but I’ll save that for a blog series…one of these days.

3. Two graduations:  
Duncan from high school (our last high school graduate!) and Laurel from Lipscomb University with her BA in psychology (summa cum laude).

 
4. Wedding!
Our daughter, a beautiful bride…and our new son-in-law. This was the most perfect wedding, the most glorious, joy-filled day. What a celebration! I’ll never get tired of looking at these photos and remembering this day.

5. S I C K. 
I spent a few days in the hospital and then the entire summer recovering from pericarditis. It was a long, slow recovery that basically required me to do absolutely nothing but read and watch Netflix for six weeks. Trust me: that sounds a lot more fun than it actually is. 

 6. New floors! 
While I was recovering, Randy was renovating. Not only did he rip up the carpet and refinish the hardwood floors we found beneath, but he painted the whole living room and gave us a gorgeous new space to create our new life of empty nesting.

7. School, school, and more school. 
August brought new adventures for all our kids. Duncan started college; Laurel and Hunter both started graduate school; and Jesse started law school. So proud of all of them!

8. Engaged! 
We recovered from Laurel and Hunter’s wedding just in time to start planning Jesse and Summer’s, coming on July 4, 2020!

 9. Fix ‘em up! 
Our precious parents: broken arm, broken ribs, broken-ish toe. We’ve become well-acquainted with doctors’ offices, home health care, and rehab facilities this year. Mom’s all healed now; Dad and Pat (Randy’s mom) are works in progress. We love them all so dearly.

 10. Empty nest.  
I could share of photo of Randy and me sitting on the couch, watching reruns of ER every night, to illustrate our empty nest; but I’ll go with this. For the first time in over 20 years, I’m no longer driving a minivan. And I have to say: I don’t miss the van one bit!

So there we go. What a year! 

Can’t wait to see what 2020 brings…I think!