Kabobs & Apple Pie

The #tenyearsago hashtag is ringing off the hook today on Twitter. I’d join in, but you know me and my big mouth — I have a lot more to say than 140 characters. So, here goes. Ten years ago:

• I was getting ready to leave UMBC and start a new job at an advertising agency in Baltimore. This is the very advertising agency where I would meet and befriend a guy named John who had a best friend named Roger. I believed Roger was imaginary since John and I went out together just about every day, and this Roger never seemed to be around. How exactly does one have a best friend that they never see? 6 months later, Roger materialized. 1 year later, we started dating. Nearly 2 years after that, we got married. And I’ve been putting up with his cranky demeanor ever since.
• I was finishing up my Master’s degree and getting ready to start on a doctorate. I believed I was going to become an academic and ditch the corporate life. Turns out the academic life was not exactly what I thought it would be. I still love to learn, but I guess I love to do more. Now I’m lucky to be in a field where I can do both.
• I didn’t want to get married ever and definitely never wanted children. Azita wasn’t even a twinkle in my eye. In fact, I had asked my doctor that year if I could get a tubal ligation. I’m glad she refused. I’m also glad that I changed my mind. I can say however, that what I learned in my experiences, at least in this regard, is that whatever Azita wants to do when she is a young or old woman she can do. She doesn’t need to marry or have children. On the other hand, she could devote her life to having a family and raising children. I am fine with either. Truly. Read: I am not my mother. Phew!
• I lived in Baltimore and loved the city. I didn’t know that one year later a few very bad men would fly some planes into some buildings killing thousands, and fueling the racism that hid deeply within many of the citizens of the city I thought I loved. I had experienced racism before, but never to this degree. I would eventually flee this city, returning to the city of my birth. It was just 40 miles apart physically, but there is a world of difference. I have come to gain a renewed appreciation for the Washington DC area. It may be overpriced and the people may be pretty pretentious and rude at times, but there is no shortage of people from every corner of the world. And for the most part that is not only accepted, but it is embraced.
• My sister had just gotten married, and I learned that sisters kind of belong to each other until they meet the romantic love of their life. I was a little sad that there was now another person in our relationship. Due to circumstances I don’t care to go into right now, a wedge was driven between us. She moved to Saudi Arabia for a couple years (completely unrelated to our falling out) and had a baby. When she came back things were different, but we gradually grew close again. Now I realize that spouses may become part of the equation, but in the words of the famous Irving Berlin song: “Those who’ve seen us, know that not a thing can come between us; many men have tried to split us up but no one can.” Also, tangentially, the best things really do happen when you’re dancing.

I have no idea what the next decade will bring, but I hope it brings not only happiness, but also love and adventure. And if it’s not too much to ask, another baby and more money wouldn’t hurt either.

I wish all of you a very happy new years and no matter what the last decade was like for you, I hope the next one will be better.