I apologize for my long silence. It has taken me a while to get back into the swing of things. I have a lot to post about, but almost too much – just thinking about all the posts I wanted to make made me feel tired and I avoided doing anything as a consequence.
I realize that round numbers are just as arbitrary as any other numbers are. For example, 7:00 pm is just as precise as 6:57 pm. In the same vein, 2010 should not be any more symbolic a number than, say, 2007. But that’s not how people work. While 2009 didn’t send me to reflecting on 1999, or 1989, 2010 made me reflect on year 2000.
Ten years.
A decade.
In 2000, I was almost done high school. My childhood was at an end and I was looking forward to my adulthood with trepidation. I was afraid of independence, afraid of leaving my past behind, afraid that my life would not be happy. I didn’t know then how much I would love going to university, or that I would discover that I could feed myself, go to class, do my homework, make new friends, and become my own person. I would even meet my first boyfriend.
I celebrated year 2000 with my beloved parents, who took me to Halifax for the big celebration. They offered to take my friends, too, and to pay for our own hotel room so we could ring in the new year in true decadence and stay up giggling all night long. My friends declined the offer, afraid they might miss an even better celebration back home. A decade later I rang in the new year with my husband, who I was to meet in 2001, a close friend who I did meet in 2000, and her spouse. It was a tiny celebration. I was jet lagged and didn’t even drink. But there was closeness and quietness, a contrast from the raucous 2000 Y2K bash.
In the ten years spanning those two New Years celebrations, I have gotten a high school diploma, a Bachelor of Science, a diploma in Veterinary Technology, and held several full time jobs.
I have achieved my dream of becoming a professional dog trainer, and lived through the hell of being a telemarketer.
I have been through three bouts of depression.
I have gained twenty five pounds, lost it again, regained it, and added another 15 pounds on top of it.
I have had my first kiss, my first break up, my first serious relationship.
I have lost my virginity, both regular and Rocky Horror.
I have lived in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia. I have lived in eleven different places, not counting my parent’s house.
I have adopted my dog, and my cat.
I have risked everything to find happiness and won the gamble.
I have dated and married my best friend.
I have been given a car.
I have driven across the country in it, with my best friend and lover.
I have found my dream job.
I have bought a house.
And now, I sense, everything is about to change again. The last ten years have brought me terrible tears and impossible joys. In a way, 2010 was my happy ending.
…But happy ever afters don’t last. My story isn’t over, and I sense that the sequel is about to begin.
If By Yes 