What a year! So many things have happened, some bad, many good, but I finally feel, perhaps for the first time in a long time, that this has been a year of progress on almost every front. Things are getting better! At least for me. If things are not going better for you, I have even better news. This damned year is over! Today is the last day! Hooray! And whether 2014 has been a year of progress for you (and don’t mistake progress with happiness, progress often means pain), or another year of stagnation, confusion, or even back-sliding, let’s agree that 2015 will be even better! But before we can dig into the new year, we must unpack and put away the old one.
The year started out with a little bit of progress right away, as Edward was visited by The Bubba Fairy! Yes, we finally pulled the trigger and took away all of the baby bottles that our three-year-old had otherwise been enjoying. But he got an awesome present, and so, with only a little complaining, we crossed an item off of our bad parenting checklist and began 2014 the right way!
And then, to fix another thing that had been previously wrong with our lives for many years, we got a new car! It was a car that we all fit into! With decent mileage! Perfect for family trips, or driving around town with friends and neighbors. What a relief it has been to have spent an entire year with nothing breaking down in traffic. Sure, we’ve had to fix a few things here and there, but overall the peace of mind has been a true blessing.
Speaking of progress, in the course of only two weeks time I went from having a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, to having a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old! That seemed like a big thing. And what fun it was to spend Ruby’s birthday in New York City with her, and Edward’s birthday bowling with monsters.
Of course it wasn’t all smooth sailing. We had some health issues in the Spring that I am no longer writing about (but we had a very good neurology appointment yesterday! so far so good!), and I decided to be controversial and make people angry on a variety of subjects ranging from the common core to annoying parenting commercials. We even (temporarily) lost Bear! But hey, it’s all progress, and it all worked out in the end!
Speaking of progress, my wife went off to grad school for a while to get a Master’s degree, which has been on her to-do list for a decade or more, and she will be finishing up her program this Spring! Super exciting!
Of course, the biggest news of all time life was the move. No, we still live in the same place. I’m talking about Tenor Dad! Remember, we used to be on a different site and looked all different and stuff? No? You forgot? Well, it’s true. In June, Tenor Dad celebrated it’s 1000th post by moving over fully to Tenordad.com, where it has been ever since (and will continue to be, no more moving, the loss of stats and SEO ranking is killing me!).
Remember when I said that progress was pain? Well, we also resolved another issue in our life that was not an easy thing to do. We took our miserable cats and sent them to live with my mother, where they immediately became happier. Oh, and in return we got a puppy. Maybe that wasn’t progress after all… Forget about that. Instead, just re-judge this epic selfie contest that we had. That will make us all feel better.
Edward continued to develop his mischief skills, swindling a delivery boy out of bread, trying to ruin the laundry, and generally trying to make me insane (quite successfully, I might add). Not that he didn’t have help from his sister…
In fact, Ruby had many grand adventures, like her quest through Mermaid’s Armpit, and finishing the color run with her mother. If I think I have made any progress, it’s nothing compared to what my kids have accomplished this year. They are really growing up into extraordinary people. I mean, it’s not just any kid that could steal a bike from Toys R Us and successfully evade capture for so long at only four years of age!
Actually, you what has helped Edward? Taekwan-do. Ever since he started taking classes the boy has begun a journey of almost listening and behaving. I mean, it could have been the medication switch too, but the focus and pride he has gained from taekwan-do cannot be undersold. Yup, he’s going to do all right for himself.
Halloween was awesome, Thanksgiving was awesome, and we even got our Christmas shopping done early! Talk about having our acts together! Progress!
This past month we have celebrated Ruby’s 2 year seizure-free anniversary, I’ve had a post published over at The Good Men Project, we perfected our gingerbread house decorating party, and we won Christmas! What more could anyone ask for?!
And so, goodbye 2014. You were pretty sweet. We had ups, downs, sideways, yes. But always forward. Always progress. So bring it, 2015. Let’s see what you’ve got.