What a crazy 2010! We welcomed 2010 quietly, after a whirlwind December 2009 that involved three out-of-state trips between CB & I and our first married Christmas. The house was still in a state, with CB & I still needing time to sort out all of the generous gifts from the wedding PLUS both of our stuff.
Thankfully, MLK weekend gave us a chance. Over three days we moved out of and back in to the kitchen, emptying every cupboard, cabinet and drawer, picking and choosing what to keep and what we would find another home for. We finally were able to get rid of the last set of boxes in the dining room and take back our house.
January also served as the jumping off point for my MBA application process, with a GMAT prep class at the end of the month at Drexel. February brought the GMATs, a visit to Drexel, and Internet searches. CB took a cake decorating class with her sister, ensuring a beautiful, yummy cake would show up right around my birthday. The MBA apps wrapped up in March and the waiting began.
To celebrate the MBA apps finishing up, CB & I went off to DC for a long weekend. Biking around the capital, they revisited the site of their engagement at the FDR memorial. They also stopped in to see CB’s brother, and their family friend Didi.
In April, I took a new position in the company, landing in the R&D IT division. The next three months were filled with work-transition items, the second Emerging Leaders residency, and a flurry of “new project” work. Thankfully, though, Memorial Day weekend came, and with it a chance for some time away.
CB took off to Alaska for an adventure with her friend Janet, fulfilling a long-held promise once Janet finally finished her PhD program. Myself, not wanting to be left home alone, found a nearly-deserted island off the coast of Panama to sneak away to for a few days for some remote R&R.
Returning home, we were now just days away from our one year anniversary. Not wanting to let the occasion pass uncelebrated, we snuck off to NYC for the night. After a great Cuban dinner, we went up the Empire State building, then saw Memphis the next afternoon. And just like June 13th a year earlier, it poured rain in the afternoon.
June, July and August were hot in Philly as usual, so it was time to shift gears. Instead of trying to “get things done” around the house, CB & I spent our time running around having fun. From concerts to shows to dinners and dancing, we had plenty of fun.
The MBA acceptance letters also came back, and we knew it was just a matter of time before I would be tied up for two years getting my masters. To celebrate, we quickly planned a two week trip to Australia for Labor Day weekend. Despite some setbacks at work and having no time to plan, we did a whirlwind tour of Melbourne, Cairns, and Sydney. We saw penguins, kangaroos, wallabies, and birds galore, along with the Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, and wine country outside Melbourne.
Two weeks after we landed I was off to the week-long kickoff session at Babson in Boston! From October until mid-December, I was in school and life was go-go-go! Despite some sad moments in the Fall, we slid in to the end of the year, with Thanksgiving at Cioci Deb’s and Uncle Burt’s in Sparta, Christmas Eve with CB’s family, and Christmas Day with both sides. Sure, we may have been decorating the tree again on Christmas Eve, but it was still a great holiday with our family.
Now, with 2010 in the books, we are thankful for all the great moments and we look forward to seeing what 2011 will bring us.
Happy New Year!