The 2000s

I've noticed a lot of "The 2000s in Review" articles lately, and I thought it might be a good time to reflect on the last decade in my own life...

2000: I started the decade working full time and saving up for my first year of college. I had a missionary I was writing that I was pretty positive I was going to marry. In April I went to Jasper for a few days with my best friend Carl - it was my first "grown up" trip away by myself. In September I started college and I was SO excited...I've always loved school and I really missed it the year I worked after high school. Needless to say I found the transition to post-secondary pretty easy and I got right into the school thing.

2001: Just 13 days into the year I met a guy at a party...a guy that started out as a nice distraction until my missionary got home but quickly became more than that. James and I's first year together was a rocky one...our families were very different religions and it was a big point of contention (mostly for his family). Carl wasn't a fan, and I don't think my parents could figure out what I saw in him, but we were crazy about each other pretty much from day 1. We broke up a couple of times but couldn't stay away from each other for long. During the summer James started investigating the church and was baptized in November. He proposed on Christmas eve day at the Muttart Conservatory in the middle of the poinsettia display.

2002: was all about The Wedding. In February we set the date: December 28th. The whole year was pretty much consumed with wedding planning and I don't think I came up for air until 2003! I also did my first student teaching practicum teaching a grade 5/6 class during November and December...that was very stressful but I had a great mentor teacher and it was a good experience. James struggled to find a full time job to support us while I was in school, and our prayers were answered when he got a warehousing job 9 days before we got married.

2003: Our first year of marriage! The first part of this year was a tough go...James and I were living in a tiny (and crappy) basement apartment on the west end of the city (in not the greatest neighborhood) and didn't have 2 nickels to rub together. We couldn't afford a car so James had to ride the bus for 90 minutes each way to work. Still, we had the "newlywed glow" so our dingy apartment (which we now refer to as "the hobbit hole" due to the fact that the ceiling in the bathroom was a little less than 6 feet), garage sale couch and second hand pots and pans were great because they were OURS! We were really adults now, living our own lives! Thankfully in June we got a very nice 1 bedroom apartment just off Whyte Avenue...I'll never forget when I found out that we got that apartment, I felt like we'd won the lottery! I waitressed during the summer and transferred to the U of A for the 3rd year of my degree. My second teaching practicum late that year didn't go as well as the first one...my mentor teacher and I had very different styles and I felt super intimidated by her. I didn't do my best and I started to seriously question the degree I was taking. Of course, being in my 4th year, it was a little late to do anything about it.

2004: I remember feeling very lost at this time in my life. I was the first in my family to graduate from university, an accomplishment I felt very proud of. At the same time I felt extremely discouraged because I had no teaching job lined up and no prospects...and I wasn't sure teaching was even what I wanted to do. That spring I got a job downtown at a call centre (answering customer calls for an american cell phone company)...the pay was decent and it seemed like a good job to pay the bills until I figured out what I was going to do. A few weeks out of training I noticed a job posting for a trainer position - a university degree wasn't required but a huge plus. I got an interview right away and I got a job about a week later! In a matter of a few weeks I had gone from student to teacher, so it was a bit of a challenge trying to teach subject matter I was still learning myself. It wasn't a perfect job but it was a "real" job and I discovered that I enjoyed teaching much more when I was teaching adults. We also got our first car this year which really made life easier!

2005: Ah, the year I got the "baby rabies". Bad!! James and I decided it was time to start our family, and on June 27th I nearly passed out when I saw the second line pop up on the pregnancy test! Which would have been problematic, since I was in a food court washroom at the time (I've never been good at waiting, and I just couldn't wait the 20 minutes it would have taken me to get home!). I was thrilled to be pregnant and thought about nothing else for the rest of the year. ;)

2006: By mid February I was as big as a house and went on some much needed maternity leave...by then I was glad to leave my call centre job behind and was excited to be a stay at home mom. On March 10th around noon my water broke, and Emmett Joseph Johnson made his way into the world at 6:21 pm the next day after a rather forceful eviction. I was in love instantly with this pink, gooey, squalling little creature. The transition to motherhood was not a smooth one...I felt incredibly insecure about my ability as a parent and there were many, many tears. Still, I loved being a mother and put my heart and soul into raising my little man. One bedroom wasn't going to cut it anymore, so our little family moved into our current place when Em was just 7 weeks old. Faced with the challenge of supporting a growing family, James busted his butt trying to get a plumbing apprenticeship...he quit at the warehouse and worked odd jobs while lining up at the union whenever he could trying to get that first job. Finally in September he started as a 1st year plumbing apprentice and we were thrilled! James proved to be a natural at the trades.

2007: Most of this year was uneventful...James was putting in his hours, waiting to go to school so he could advance to his second year, and I stayed home with a rapidly growing Emmett. In November we got some great news - I was pregnant again - and some very bad news...James was laid off very unexpectedly. He got another job quickly, but it was in a remote camp up north and he would be gone for weeks at a time. We decided to jump in with both feet and make the best of it. Just as we were adjusting to this new work schedule - James had been gone about a week - I learned I was miscarrying. Going through that without him was one of the most trying experiences of my life (and his, too). However, we grow through our trials and although that winter was very hard, I know it made me a stronger person.

2008: Things really started looking up for us this year...in March James found an in town job, and that spring I extremely happy to discover I was pregnant. That summer James was extremely happy to discover that our baby had an "outie"! ;) James had a series of jobs that weren't the greatest, but in August he got on at a project very close to home. Suddenly we had a lot more stability in our lives and it was so nice to have James home at 4pm! He also finally got his chance to go to school which meant a promotion at work. Emmett started to verbalize more and explore his world, which was very fun to watch.

2009: Seth John Robert Johnson joined our family on January 14th at 11:15pm...another beautiful little boy to love! James went to school and got another promotion, and continues to be the "go-to guy" on his project site. This year has been a bit of a blur as I've adjusted to parenting two small children. I took up running and discovered that I, the least athletic person on earth, could run a 5K! Emmett started preschool and Seth is growing at a fantastic rate - it's hard to believe his first year of life is almost complete!

Well, that's my life for the past decade...it's been one of huge growth and change. I've gone from a young girl just out of high school trying to find her way in the adult world, to a university grad, wife and mother of two boys. I think the next decade (what are we calling it? the "teens"?) will be one of big changes as well...home ownership, most likely another little one, maybe a return to the workforce, aunthood (looking at you here, Brit!! ;)) and the challenges of parenting school age kids. Bring it, 2010!