Year in Retrospect

I'm writing this entry a little prematurely, but I have noticed that more and more friends and family members are sending out their Yearly Newsletters & Christmas cards, so I am in the spirit. This will be our last holiday season as an unmarried couple and in the midst of finishing up wedding related tasks, I will not be doing Christmas cards this year. Gasp! I am looking forward to being able to send cards and a Newsletter out next year as The Copelands, so I did not want to ruin the novelty of that.


I do not think that 2009 could have been a better year. I really feel as though I will look back at this year, and realize how pivotal it was in my life. Of course, this year has not been with out trials and tribulations. The economy has been dismal at best, but we are fortunate to live in Austin, one of the cities that has been least affected by the recession. Saying that, Dave and I started out the year, January 1st, 2009 at 12p.m. having to face the news that he was laid off from his position as a restaurant manager in Elgin, Texas. Wow, ouch....The layoff had been somewhat predicted by Dave, he knew it was coming, but wow, on the 1st, REALLY? The good news of that day was that I was off and we were able to spend it together. As a recent graduate from Texas State with his masters, Dave knew this was a position he had outgrown. It was a blessing in disguise to be pushed out of the door with a reasonable severance package. He now had all of the time in the world to find a new job. And he did. A wonderful job that has allowed him to sort of use his degree in Legal Studies. He is now working as an Engineering Specialist (he hates when I tell people his title because he says it's misleading) for the Railroad Commission of the State of Texas in the damage prevention division. Best part of this job? We work 1.5 miles away from one another in downtown Austin. It makes life convenient sometimes.

I began the year of 2009 very determined. I would graduate this semester. I was 3 credits away from completing my Masters of Liberal Arts degree in Legal Studies. All I had left to completely was my Applied Research Paper...this was the largest academic obstacle I have ever had to overcome. First of all, I'm not a great writer, second, I don't enjoy writing, third, Dave had just graduated and I was dragging my feet finishing my own paper. So I wrote, and I wrote and I wrote. I turned in multiple drafts to my advisor, and I pulled multiple overnighters after ignoring my paper over the weekend and feeling guilty about it come Monday. I finished the paper in April 2009, sat in front of a review board challenging my paper in early May 2009, and walked the stage May 15, 5 days after Dave and I got engaged. I have been at my job as a paralegal for the entire year of 2009. Life as a paralegal in a boutique law firm has provided me a wonderful opportunity to learn and practice all the things I studied getting my masters.

We witnessed a best-friend get married, we ran our first 10K together, we had a couple of garage sales together, we moved into our first house together, we went through Dave's career change together, we went through two surgeries on our dogs together, we had countless family get togethers side by side, we made the decision to spend the rest of our lives with one another, we've planned a wedding...mostly together :o), we traveled together, we went deep-sea fishing together.

I look back at 2009 and realize how lucky I am to have Dave in my life. It's like we just fit together. I'm blessed that my family has really accepted him as one of their own, they all love him, and the feeling is mutual. I'm blessed that Dave's family has just as equally welcomed me with opened arms. I'm looking forward to meeting more of Dave's family in 2010 and at our wedding. I'm blessed that I went from having the best support team ever growing up, my mom and dad, to my future husband who has been just as supportive, if not even more, of everything I want to accomplish in this life. Life seems limitless when you have a cheerleading by your side. I look forward to growing our little family unit. I look forward to the challenges we face as a couple, and the opportunity we will have to make decisions together to reach each of our life goals. I look forward to leaning on Dave for support, and being there for him to lean on for support.

I don't usually have New Year's resolutions, other than the generic, "I will get in better shape and eat healthier."  I really try and do that year round. Key word: try.  However, over the next year there are things I would like to work on.  First of all, I would like to try and live in the moment more. I still want to plan ahead and I love daydreaming and talking about the future, but often, I overlook the awesome right now moments. The times when we are just together with people that we love, usually not doing anything special.

I want to try and relax more. I don't mean like sitting and watching T.V. kind of relaxing. I mean, not worrying about things that are out of my control. I resolve to be less fixated on things out of my control, especially if it's midnight on a Monday and what I'm fixated on isn't for weeks away. (If you know me, you understand this aspect of my personality.)

I want to get closer to God. I've drifted from where I use to be religiously and I want to get back. I'm lucky that even though Dave and I believe differently, we are accepting of each other's beliefs. I want to read the Bible more this year.

I would like to live more simply. I don't need a lot to be happy and sometimes I surround myself with things that are unnecessary. I'm not very materialistic for the most part, but while planning our wedding I've ousted myself to be fairly high-maintenance.

I want to complete our first half-marathon together!! We have been training for quite a few months, and it can get overwhelming at times, but we've given ourselves lots of time to get in shape. We are running on February 14, 2010, which is like icing on the cake. I'm looking forward to registering us for the race as Mr. & Mrs. Copeland.

Christmas is just around the corner, and then I feel like we will be non-stop until January 18th, 2010 when we return from our honeymoon. It's going to be a whirlwind and I can't wait!!! I'm going to try and start practicing living in the moment...once it all begins.  For now I'm still in major planning and scheduling mode!