Mandetory End of Year Reflection, 2020

Another year with all the hijinks therein.  Deploy the bulleted list!

• We bought a freakin' house!  And we're continuing to add in different touches that make it more and more us.  
• We paid off all our student debt!  I have so many feelings about this. #MillenialUnicorns
• I have entered into the wild world of management.
• Andy has a new project car to work on.
• My eyes are lasered and successfully so, meaning that I no longer need glasses.
• Mike moved in with us.
• We had all kinds of interesting travel, including but not limited to the following:
• Orlando, FL (family vacay to Universal Studios)
• Austin, TX (work but also some hangage with Wendy and Jason)
• San Benito, TX (work)
• San Antonio, TX (work)
• Oahu, HI (family vacay, yo)
• Andy got a vasectomy, which means that we are never going to go through pregnancy in this house--it's been a HUGE relief.

Things we're looking forward to include but are not limited to the following:

• Actualizing some of Andy's plans for the car, starting with outlining the full scope of the changes needed.
• Regarding the house, we are considering making some significant changes to our downstairs bathroom sooner rather than later.  This will include expanding out that space by about four feet, adding an ostomy toilet, and building a closet space for our master bedroom.
• As per usual, I'm aiming to continue to learn new things:
• Riding a bike 
• Taking another class (or three)
• Picking up DuoLingo again for Norwegian, having dropped it for several months
• We're trying this new thing called saving money, with no small amount of gratitude that our situation allows it.

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT is that it's been another unpredictable year.  I think that's the best word for it.  There were a few things that we were setting up for--paying off debt, for example, required some specific, long-term planning, and the family vacations were determined far enough in advance to appropriately ask off for work--but there were all kinds of surprises and timings tossed in the mix.  A number of people in my circle are in this interesting transition time in their lives, preparing and/or anticipating changes.  In some cases, it's retirement; in others, changing jobs and moving are at the forefront in the upcoming year; others still are waiting for clarity in what those next steps are going to be, preparing all things for whatever comes to fill in the gaps.  Politically, too, next year is going to be a doozy.  I'm very much tapping into the anticipation of impending change.

Last year, I felt some similar pieces, that we were collectively preparing for changes, calling it "The Year of the Precipice," for myself at least.  We were very much planning on buying a house at that point, hoping that the stars would align accordingly.  As a result, we did make some big changes this year, taking some significant leaps to do so.  And yet, that anticipation is still present and, I think, more urgent.  I've been trying to re-empathize with the me from last year, to remember myself in that space, to compare, but I'm not certain.  I'm not the me I used to be, which is terrifying and gratifying in the same breath.  

This year, I think I'll go with "The Year of the Shove."  The exhilaration of jumping off of the precipice.  Ready or not.  All that preparation carrying us to where we are and propelling us to where we will be.  Gravity increases the acceleration.  There's uncertainty and a lot of fear from that.  There is also a strange confidence, as we have been throwing pillows and cushions down to meet us at the eventual *ahem* sudden shift in velocity.  Here we go.

Also, I'm already tired of the 20/20 jokes.