Looking Back On Years Past…

With a year ending, it is only natural to look back on what happened during the previous year. However, since 2009 is the year ending, there is also an entire decade to look back on. As I look back, it is amazing how much my life has changed. I thought I’d share a few memories of each year of the past decade.

2000

This was the year that B and I got serious. Then, in July, I "squashed bugs" while proposing to her. Ok, I didn’t really squash bugs. I started to go down on one knee, saw a large amount of ants there and moved over a few feet before proposing. Later on that year, I moved away from home to be closer to B as we planned our wedding.

2001

This year, I got called into a surprise company-wide conference call. Never a good sign. My company decided to move in a different direction and the entire website I (and some other people) were working on was killed. I spent a month looking with upcoming nuptuals before finding a new job. (I’m still at that same job.)

Of course, this was also the year that B and I were married and went on our Disney World honeymoon.

Later that year, I worried about my father and best friend during the September 11th attacks. (Especially my friend who worked in the World Trade Center.) Luckily, both were safe.

2002

This year, B and I thought about having children. After going back and forth for awhile, we decided to try, but first we’d take a "last hurrah" trip to Vegas. Little did we know that NHL was tagging along! Unfortunately, the Vegas trip ended sadly when my digital camera was stolen. I didn’t mind the camera disappearing so much (insurance paid for a better one), but the lost photos can never be replaced.

2003

Of course, since NHL tagged along the previous year, 2003 was the year that NHL entered our lives. In an instant our lives changed forever and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

2004

A month before NHL’s first birthday, he experienced a febrile seizure and stopped breathing. This still ranks among the scariest moments of my life. I seriously thought he was dying/dead. Luckily, he was ok and we celebrated his first birthday a month later (with a nice tub afterwards to wash cake off of him).

This was also the year that B and I became serious about improving our diets and losing weight. By the end of the year, I had lost over 60 pounds.

2005

With NHL well past 18 months and still not walking on his own, we finally found out the reason. He had hypotonia. His muscles were so flexible that he literally struggled to overcome gravity. He began therapy and began walking very soon afterwards. Finally, our NHL was mobile! We soon wondered just why we wanted him so mobile as he used his newfound abilities to get into trouble.

2006

In 2006, we decided to try for a second child. Before long, we found out that NHL was going to be a big brother. Hooray! On the weight loss front, I wound up 82 pounds down from the start of our weight loss adventure. At this point, I was in the low 170’s and people started telling me that I was too skinny. This was a first for me. I’d never been called skinny before in my life!

2007

In May, JSL entered our lives. NHL instantly loved his baby brother though he didn’t quite understand why JSL couldn’t play big boy games with him.

2008

The year 2008 didn’t start off too well. JSL had a febrile seizure in February. Like his brother, JSL stopped breathing. Unlike NHL, though, he didn’t start again on his own. My mother-in-law gave him rescue breaths until emergency services arrived and JSL landed in the hospital for a few days. Later that year, I began blogging as TechyDad. 2008 ended with JSL falling while running, suffering a concussion and another ambulance ride to the hospital.

2009

This year has had many ups and downs. In March, JSL began choking. At least that’s what we thought he was doing at the time. It turned out to be a febrile seizure. Unlike his other seizure, though, his brother was right there to witness the whole thing.

A month later, my grandmother passed away at the age of 94. I began plans to scan all of the old photos that she had so that all of her children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren could enjoy them instead of the photos being divided up and scattered.

A month after that, we had a high as we went to Disney World for a week with the boys and B’s parents. JSL celebrated his second birthday with Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore and Piglet. The boys had a wonderful time. Ok, let’s face it. We all had a wonderful time and can’t wait to go back.

In August, NHL turned 6 and then went to first grade a month later.

In November, JSL fell down and his his forehead on the concrete. While in the ER, we saw a lot of people coughing up a storm. H1N1 soon came to visit our household. First, B got sick and then JSL. After a week of no H1N1, NHL came down with it. For some reason, I was spared H1N1’s wrath.