Another One Down

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go. ~Brooks Atkinson


So true, but 2010 is a year I will always treasure. A grand year filled with surprises and new experiences. Eh, sounds kinda trite, but it's accurate. It was a remarkable year primarily for three big reasons, two of which I can share with you.

What? No, the main reason why 2010 sparkled is a whopper, but I can't share that here just yet. Some readers know what it is already. It's a very complicated situation. This discovery I made early in the year was Big, a pulling-the-carpet-out-from-under-me kind of big. Something that made me look at myself quite differently. Something that caused a bit of an identity crisis. There will be future entries filled with emotions and pictures, perhaps in the coming year. As I said, it is complex. Sorry, invisible audience!

One big thing was that I finally set foot in Europe. As I've slowly been documenting in the Tourista series, my wife and I visited France and Spain for a glorious nine days. Basque region and Paris. Wondrous. It was an instance of exceeded expectations. I think on it daily. I predicted that while there it would feel like a dream. It certainly did, but yet I felt very much a part of a real landscape. It might have been the rich history all around, the earthiness. I felt like I belonged there. Increasingly, I feel like a simpler life is what I seek. I'm not ready to join the Amish just yet, but I could assimilate without too much difficulty, I think. I've often said that I was born too late. Perhaps later than I had originally thought.

The other? I taught a class this fall (see previous entry). Five students in an audiology lab for the graduate speech language pathology program. It was a deeply satisfying experience. It was nice to be able to put knowledge into action and watch it manifest in others. Readers of the previous post will recall that I had the opportunity to teach a lecture course for one session a few years ago, a great time for me. This time I was able to develop and guide. I hope my students found it at least 50% as valuable as I did.

I also spent another fine year with my lovely bride. I feel I am growing into married life quite nicely. Everyone always said it was work, and that is apt. And worth every bit of it. I'm a much better person than even 1.5 years ago.

I also continue to count my blessings with a great workplace. Every day brings new challenges, often the sorts of cases I only read about in textbooks. When I survey the things I've learned and performed audiologically this year...things that used to scare me because they were unfamiliar. Nothing like getting your hands dirty. Experience breeds confidence and competence.

We continued to volunteer at our church in the hospitality and (me) intercessory prayer group. This Christmas was especially valuable as we were able to deliver a Christmas tree and gifts courtesy of our volunteer group to a single mother and her children. We got to meet and spend a little time with her, listening to some really tragic stories. But what a strong woman. There was no "woe is me" in her demeanor. There are a lot of women like her out there, far from their families, trying to raise a new one. I pray that the coming year is filled with provision and peace for her.

It is time to bid adieu to 2010 (twenty-ten, two-thousand ten, whatever your pleasure), but as it passes into the pages of history it will be savored by this writer. For all of the rest of my days...

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