This is lame to post my year in review in February, but better than in March, I always say.
January:
-I started out the year with a full-blown nervous break down that included screaming and crying and the breaking of inanimate objects just minutes before the New Years Eve party we were hosting was about to begin. A culmination of stress involving infertility problems, being in charge of a major office move happening that month, party planning and having half the invited guests cancel at the last minute after I had spent an entire paycheck on food and drink. There must have been more to it than that, because I lost my shit so completely, but I can�t even recall what was happening. Must have just been my brains way of getting some release. Luckily I got it together before the remaining guests arrived and ended up having a great night with the people who meant the most.
February:
-Receive Karaoke Revolution X-box for my birthday.
-See a fertility specialist and put the plan in motion to try artificial insemination the next month. We would have started that month, but I already had a trip to California planned when I would have needed to have one of the pre-tests performed.
-Went to CA to attend my grandparent�s 65th wedding anniversary. It was amazing to be part of something so special; so much love spanning generations.
-One last shot at trying the old fashion way before medical intervention.
-My sister and brother-in-law visit and play karaoke x-box with us for what turns out to be a ridiculously fun weekend having a pomegranate martini fueled singing showdown.
March: PREGNANT! After I am only a few hours late, we decide to take a test and are shocked to find it positive after trying so hard for a year and half. First thought: WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!? Second thought: Oh, I guess I won�t be getting artificially anything. Third thought: YEA! WOO HOO! FUCKING FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April:
-Have some strange pain and spotting, rush to the gyno, everything seems fine. Take a sick day.
-My young cousin visits, so I take her to BC to add some spice to her trip.
-On the way to BC, get pulled over to receive my very first speeding ticket. Turns out to be a sting operation as the daily news is doing a story on speeders on that particular stretch of road. My first speeding ticket makes the evening news.
May:
-I bought thirteen $1 presidential coins for $20 = first sign of pregnancy brain.
-Sasha bought a boat = first sign of mid-life crisis.
- Have some strange pain and gushes of scary, spontaneous bleeding; rush to the gyno, everything seems fine. Take a sick day.
-I remain freaked for a few more days until I feel confident enough to finally announce my pregnancy to the world! Experience an outpouring of love and support.
June:
-It�s a boy! 20 week ultrasound exposes boy junk!
-Fly to California to help family commemorate the 5 year anniversary of my Mother�s death.
-Get to visit my grandfather in the hospital. He broke his hip and then a series of infections are making him weaker by the day. I make sure to tell him I love him.
July:
I fall down the damn stairs.
August:
-Find out I have gestational diabetes and must remove my main food staple from my diet: sugar.
-My best friend in Seattle has her baby right on schedule. A healthy, beautiful boy named Elias.
September:
BABY! Not expected until mid-November, my baby boy arrives 7 weeks early after my water broke in the middle of the night. WELCOME FINN! Hello month long hospital drama! Sasha�s parents were able to visit and meet Finn just one day after his birth. They were coming from Wisconsin anyway for the baby shower that we had to cancel. This turns out to be something I am hugely grateful for (See November).
October:
-After a full month of either me or the baby in the hospital, Finn finally comes home. We are freaked out, but somehow get it all figured out. Finn is healthy with no problems caused by his early arrival.
-Just a few days after his 89th birthday, my grandpa dies after a 5 month battle. Having just got Finn home, it broke my heart that I was unable to attend the funeral in California.
-Sasha�s mother falls and shatters her leg. Her recovery is estimated at at least 4 months. She is devastated as plans to visit her grandchild again any time soon are dashed.
November:
-At the age of 95, Sasha�s maternal grandmother dies. We again decide not to attend the funeral held in Minnesota due to the difficulty of traveling with a newborn who has barely just passed his due date.
-On the eve of Thanksgiving, Sasha�s father, Henry has a massive stroke. His prognosis is grim, so Sasha flies to Wisconsin only to miss him by 10 minutes; Henry dies on the same day as Sasha�s grandmother�s funeral. He was only 66.
-Sasha�s mother wonders what she has done to deserve the worry of a premie grandchild, the shattering of her leg and the loss of her mother and her husband in the same week.
-There is no question that we will attend the funeral. Sasha flies home to pick up me and the baby and we learn about air travel with an infant earlier than we ever dreamed. It turns out to be the best gift we could give Sasha�s mother.
December:
-No one we know dies or is born.
-I give a thumbs up and the middle finger to the best year and the second worst year of my life.
-Hurray for 2008!