Normally New Year celebrations don't mean much to me. It's not like in the past I've been that excited about a new year or happy that another one has passed. This time was a little bit different than normal for me though. We didn't do anything extraordinary to celebrate - in fact, we didn't even stay up late. If I remember correctly, we went to bed when we always do, when the first number on the clock is a nine.
There's something about 2012 that seems special. I don't know what it us yet. Maybe it's because this is the year the world is going to end. I'm just kidding. It's not so much that I'm looking forward to this year, it's more that I'm glad 2011 is finally over. Stacey and I both agree that 2011 was the hardest year of our life. We hope we never have to live through another 2011 again.
Part of the hardship was expected and due to the choices we made, the other part completely unexpected. Things were a little rough since I had decided to take time off of work. We chose to have no money in the short run so that we could have much more in the long run. Not having money pretty much sucked. However, looking back that was just something we needed to do until Jonathan got to a point where he was more self-reliant. His medical issues extended my time off, but we got through it somehow.
Obviously, the hardest part about 2011 was dealing with Jonathan's medical challenges. Two weeks in the hospital, months of vomiting, countless trips to different doctors, and trying hard to keep him fed through his tube and strict feeding schedule took its toll. Others will never quite grasp how hard this was on us day in, day out. It's probably similar to those who have never had kids not having any idea how hard it is until they have kids themselves. Of course, the threat of massive medical bills only made the experience worse.
We also went from having one kid to having two. Although Jonathan was born the prior year, by 2011 he was seven months old and therefore in full-on kid mode. We now definitely had two kids to keep an eye on and not just one and a sack of potatoes. He was also so much different from Julia. It was an adjustment from the dainty, shy, and precise Julia to now having a wild little monkey boy on our hands.
They say that starting a new job is one of the top stresses in life. I was doing phone and person interviews in 2011 while we were in the hospital. I took a position, then quickly realized it wasn't a good fit and a poor arrangement by the second week in. After that, I almost took another position if not for a very timely letter from the IRS reminding me about self-employment taxes and insurance. Eventually I landed where I was supposed to (there's no other way to look at it). However, I still had to start and learn a new job in 2011. I'm still learning, but at least the environment is conducive.
I'm beginning to see the fruit of our labor in 2011 though. So, in some ways it makes it all seem worth it. Maybe this is just life. Maybe this is just our first taste of it. I don't know. All I know is that we're glad 2011 is over. If 2012 isn't going to be much better, then I say being on the end of the world.