Life by the numbers

20 years ago

I was living in Oklahoma, working part-time as a newspaper reporter, preparing for my first trip to Belgium—a three-week vacation that would include trips to Amsterdam, Paris, and North Sea beaches with E's Belgian relatives.  This would be my first trans-Atlantic flight and terrorist threats were in the news. The U.S. had bombed Libya in April after it downed a commercial airliner with a bomb.  Amazing that 20 years later, I'm living in Belgium and terrorist threats are still in the news.

10 years ago

My son was less than a year old, and we were having a family room/home office added onto our house so that I could work from home. We designed it ourselves and were choosing brick, hardwood flooring, gas logs, windows, and trim. By November, the addition would be finished and would be our favorite room in the house.

5 years ago

The summer had a certain poignancy. My son was getting ready to start kindergarten—a huge milestone for him and for me. Soon he'd be in someone else's care all day. My daughter was excited about being asked to be a flower girl in a family wedding. Summer was full of trips to the pool, programs at the library, visits to the berry farm, days at the beach, and backyard play.

1 year ago

It was cold and grey, and I attended a Fourth of July celebration hosted by the Army wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a fleece jacket. We’d been living in Belgium for four months and I still felt unsettled. I was retreating further and further into myself, lacking energy, and wondering if I should see a doctor about my depression. I was following the Tour de France and debating whether to go to Paris for the finish.

1 month ago

We were submerged in end of year school activities: softball, Scouts, awards assemblies, and summer plans.

1 week ago

We were enjoying a day at the zoo in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Yesterday

I woke up early and went walking at 6:30 a.m. The washer hummed all day with laundry from our trip to Germany, we ran a few errands, I pulled out my scrapbooking stuff and worked on my travel scrapbook, and watched the movie Rumor Has It (only worth watching for Shirley Maclaine’s sassy performance).

Today

Warm, sunny and perfect weather for a Fourth of July celebration at a nearby military base. We’ve had beautiful weather in Belgium over the last month, and I’m enjoying every minute of it. With Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso out of the Tour de France, I doubt I'll follow it  closely. To my surprise, I'm loving all the World Cup coverage.

Comments

[mamatulip]

This was so interesting.

I'm loving all the World Cup coverage, too!

[Rhea]

From one journalist to another, very cool. I like the chronological theme here.

[Shirley]

Great accounting of time ... just curious, did you have to think hard to come up with what happened at these points in the past or are you one of those people who can instantly remember what happened 5 and 10 years ago? I am always amazed at people who say, in 1986, we spent a week in Ohio visiting Bob and Mary and in 1991, Ethel had knee surgery. There are key dates I remember of course: our anniversary, our son's birthday, and the like, but for the majority, I have to do mental calculations to come up with a year or close approximation. I guess in this instance, it was easier to remember because it was tied to the 4th of July holiday ... true? or can you tell me what was going on in your life on January 3, 1983? Ah, lightbulb moment, bet you keep a journal!!