Words

So I recently found out about this #reverb10 project and I'm back logging because I'm really excited about this challenge of posting on one new topic each day!

The first prompt has kept me thinking for the past thirty minutes, pondering.  Here it is:

December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)

What could possibly be the best word to summarize my 2010, and what word do I really want to claim for 2011?  There's something very daunting about choosing a word for the upcoming year, because doing so makes it feel so imminent and foreboding.  What happens if that word doesn't come true? What if I pick the wrong word? It's a bit like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If I say it's going to be amazing, then, dammit, it'll be amazing.  Which, I suppose, is part of the purpose behing #reverb10.  Reflecting on the year past and claiming the year ahead.  So here I go.

After dismissing a couple of adjectives (gushing among them), I've settled on NONSTOP. I have been waiting for the year 2010 for so long.  Since getting engaged in July of 2008 and staking a claim on 2010 as the year our marriage, it felt like a holding pattern until 2010 arrived.  Then it did, and I am in complete and utter shock that's nearly gone.

It really feels like just yesterday that 2010 began and I was looking at Topher, squealing about it being the year of our wedding and expressing how it still seemed so far away.  Yet, early spring rushed by in a whirl of snowpocalypse, and then it was March and my mom was out for her Spring Break for last minute wedding details.  April essentially didn't exist, and since our wedding and honeymoon in May, time has sped on.  It feels like, looking back, we were constantly on the move in 2010.  After returning from Costa Rica, we flew out to Idaho mere weeks later, then I was serving jury duty and flying to St. Louis for work conferences.  We visited my parents in North Carolina for Labor Day, just adding to the travel.  My brother's wedding this last week, coupled with an entire week in New Hampshire interviewing applicants for work, and I'm exhausted! For the icing on the cake, Topher and I fly to Louisiana the day after Christmas to be with my family, fulfilling this non stop lifestyle of 2010.

The results of this non stop aren't all bad.  I mean, I did get married.

Copyright B. Scott Photo

Copyright B. Scott Photography

I did get to spend time with amazing friends.

Copyright B. Scott Photography
Samantha, me, Paige, Ann Marie, Cara, Alison, Katie

Topher, me, Katie and her husband Cole in Idaho for our reception.

I saw my family a LOT this year, including my mom a whopping 6 times.  That's the most I've seen her since I was 19 and returned home for summer vacation- and it's been wonderful. We've also gotten to spend a good amount of time with my new family.

Me, Topher, My dad, mom, brother Colin and (now!) sister-in-law Lauren

Me, Topher, Topher's bro Scott, his awesome GF Jenny, Toph's mom and step dad

So I'm sticking my flag in the sand for 2011 for the word ADVENTURE.  Topher and I are incredibly hopeful that we'll get our invitation for an amazing experience and we'll continue to grow and develop our love on this adventure called marriage.  Really, no matter what happens, we'll be on this adventure known as life, savoring every boon and pushing through every challenge, together.