2010

2010 is long gone. I am trying to get a least one blog per month written--if for nothing less than my pride. I do think that now that I have blogged for five whole years, I have some bragging rights. I have a lot of friends and some family members (you know who you are, Perfect Daughter), who started really delightful blogs, only to give up after one or two or a dozen posts. DH still blogs, but his record of one every five months is teetering on the verge of non-blogging. I think I win the prize in the herewegoagain family, at any rate, for consistent (if not timely) blogging.





Too bad so much of my fodder is so strictly off-limits! DH and Perfect Daughter have meanly (I think) forbidden me to write ANYTHING about them, but thankfully Rowdy is still fair game. After all, he is still too young to be ordering me around (yet). Sweet Girl compliantly would let me write anything about her, but so far, she just doesn't have the good quotes. Well, she did have one about Perfect Daughter and assassins, but see above line. Sigh.





2010 definitely shines as an eventful year. We started out with our spring break trip to California--beaches, Disneyland and Legoland, segued into Perfect Daughter's perfectly steamy, sweaty and delightful May law school graduation, followed by a summer of listening to her woes about studying for the bar, followed by...another steamy, sweaty and delightful day moving her out of her apartment, a big party at our house, a trip to Disney World for a week (obviously, this was the year of Disney), and then the fun of soccer all fall, followed by the November gift of "surprise, you passed the bar", Christmas at home and now she is a working attorney (I can't really throw the three-letter "s" word around, but I can think it a whole lot more now). Lots of happiness and joy...and other stuff. The phrase "blood, sweat and tears" is actually true when it pertains to moving one's daughter out of a third floor walk-up apartment in mid-August in Austin, Texas.





So, we traveled and moved and passed milestones. Not quite as painful as passing gallstones, but there was a twinge here and there.





Of course, the good news actually entailed some celebratory dinners out. Rowdy provided me with this gem at our "Yay, Amy passed the bar" dinner:





We went to a modest restaurant near our home, but apparently not as modest as my two youngest are used to frequenting (that would entail a drive-through window and a value menu). Because of the jump in menu price (well, it's hard to find a lot to eat for a dollar when there are waiters involved), we had the usual talk in the car about ordering water to drink and "no extras". Everyone was in complete agreement as we entered the restaurant and were seated in a booth. Rowdy excused himself to run to the restroom. When he returned, the bread basket had been delivered.





"What's this?", he looked suspiciously at his sisters, "Are we ordering appetizers now?"





Obviously, we need to get out more.





By the time we were in yet another modest-yet-not-McDonalds-restaurant for Perfect Daughter's celebration of her swearing-in by the Texas Supreme Court, Rowdy was actually demanding bread baskets and even wondering where the lemons were for the water. I think he might have actually whispered a request for a Dr. Pepper with his meal, which we acquiesced to only because of the giddiness of the day. Woo hoo. Perfect Daughter, esquire.





So, yes, big things happened in 2010 for the younger set of herewegoagains. They saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time since practically baby-hood. They rode in not one, but as Rowdy will tell anyone who wants to listen, FOUR airplanes. They spent an entire week with Mickey, which was long enough for them to expound with all experts on the best times to visit the best parks in all of Disney World (along with best rides, best food and best shows). Sweet Girl played in a soccer tournament that put us up in a five star hotel (right up there with bread baskets in a restaurant), and we girls all went to our first big country concert (loved Carrie already, but love Billy more now). Rowdy bought his first ridiculously priced gaming system. We got high speed internet and can now watch YouTube. We have our first digital camera that actually works. Heck, we even have Netflix-on-demand! We also saw Trans-Siberian-Orchestra in concert (this was the year of Disney and concerts and breadbaskets)....where I had a moment with Al Pitrelli. Oh, and I lost 40 pounds. We have been dragged kicking and screaming and laughing and giggling into the 21st century...just 11 years late, but who is counting anyway?





We'll really know we've arrived when we get our first smart phones. That's probably another ten years away.....