10 years

Sometimes, it feels good to steal... at least when the ramifications don't involve the police. So, a thank you to Mrs. Wilson for the idea of this particular post.

A friend of mine recently pointed out on his Facebook page that we have now been alive in five different decades (yes, that's 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, and here come the 10s). That's a lot of growing up, school, graduation, relationships, marriage and kids! The last 10 years of my life have been particularly occasion-filled. Indulge me in a look back:

2000: My graduation from Otterbein with a BA in Journalism. At various points of my college career I had concentrations in English literature and music, but I don't know to this day whether I followed through on completing them. Doesn't matter, I have the degree, in a frame, buried somewhere in my house that says "Yay, you!" Three months after graduation, I began my job at Religion Newswriters, where I still work (now as Associate Director).

2001: The year of the diet. I took 8 months and lost 35 pounds using the book, "40-30-30: Fat Burning Nutrition." I did it all by myself and a collection of old exercise videotapes, and I felt great! My best friend, Deanna, and I lived in a shabby apartment near 161 & Rte. 3. On weekends, she traveled home to see her fiancé, Joe, and I hung out at Lake Erie with my boyfriend at the time, Kevin.

2002: In the fall of 2001, I moved into a fancy townhouse condo with my sorority family girls: Kristen & Kristen. Deanna got married and moved home, so I needed a place to go. And Kristen Sullivan needed a roommate...or two! So the three of us lived better than we should—in and just out of college. I lived in the finished basement with the collection of creepy crawlers who visited me each day (that was the site of my first face off with a wolf spider!).

2003: Changes for the roommates: One Kristen called moved out to a new apartment; the other got married. I moved out in the spring as well into a new place by Sunbury Rd. & 161. My cats—Isabella and Priscilla—became my roommates at the new place, a gift from Kevin. And then that fall, my life changed dramatically. I became a single woman, and I invited myself to the neighbors' apartment... a bold move that led to me becoming Mrs. David McCallen.

2004: David becomes my sweetheart, and I move to yet another new apartment—this time at The Cove (with a lovely lake view!). I was presented with a ring at Christmas, hidden in the very last present I opened at my family's Christmas gathering.

2005: In June, David donned his dress blues and I wore a gorgeous beaded dress that made me feel "tiny" and we told everyone how much we loved each other. Then came Mexico, with a tortilla casserole I will never forget, along with a spinnaker sailing adventure that was pretty darn cool.

2006: We bought a house! We moved to Mount Vernon and began the endless renovation of a four-bedroom home on 4.5 acres. We also bought two German Shorthair puppies that summer, who worked hard at rearranging our living room furniture daily. That fall, I learned that I was pregnant.

2007: Noah arrives on June 2nd! He weighed 8 lbs, 6 ounces, and he was perfect. That fall he took his first airplane ride—to San Antonio—along with me and my mom. We traveled for my company's annual conference, which remains a vague and fuzzy experience to this day (nursing and working can be a tricky combination).

2008: This was the year of renovation. David built a deck almost entirely by himself in time to celebrate Noah's first birthday. That year he also partially renovated our kitchen, the bathroom and our woodwork. David started a new job that fall, after we made a second trip to Jamaica as a parents-only getaway.

2009: I learn what it means to parent a toddler (fun! independence!), and we burn through three babysitters in one year in a string of bad childcare luck. More house renovations this year—bathroom, stairwell and basement this time.

So, what's in store for the next decade? I can look forward to the onset of sports for Noah (and the farmer's tan that will come with it), kindergarten, maybe a new job. I forsee a new house. David would love more land, and we both think a less-needy house would be a nice change.

I've got big dreams for the year ahead: more time for me, for us, for Noah. Oh, and more time on the treadmill.