The year started off splendidly in January with a Facebook High School Reunion. The day and night were so much fun and it was an amazing experience to rekindle some lost friendships and remind myself why others never got old.
February brought perhaps the biggest and most worrisome event of all. Christa was diagnosed with scoliosis, severe enough to require follow-ups and complete uncertainty due to her still growing body. Thanks to my good friend Gina for setting me straight and pointing us in the chiropractic direction. Christa's last x-ray in August resulted in another 'wait and see' diagnosis, but at least I feel I'm doing something for her in the meantime. One of the worst feelings for me is helplessness and I felt that more than once this year.
March brought another huge blow, financially and emotionally. The effects of this carried through the entire year and I'm afraid I'll be feeling them for the next several years.
I spent a weekend in April with my good friend Tricia. We went to see Kings of Leon together, spent hours in a used book store, toured Eastern State Penitentiary (I did that with Tam too, in March) and generally rediscovered our friendship. We had the best time! I felt like I was 17 again, only this time we could get into as much trouble as we wanted!
In June, Tam and I went to the bike race in Manayunk. Long one of my favorite places in Philly, this event was pretty exciting. I hope to do it again. I also bailed on the PJ Harvey concert that night, which unfortunately became a staple for me this year. So many concerts to attend, and I let my travel/weather fears turn me into my mother :(
July is always a family friendly month with our annual July 4th extravaganza at my mom's in Southampton. I should mention that my cousin Dominick moved to the Philadelphia area from Florida in June. It has been great having him around, and having my girls get to know him. We also spent a week in Ocean City, NJ in July.
August brought 2 major events. (Hmm, now I'm starting to think the year wasn't so bad after all....) Lollapalooza and our first ever Mangine Family reunion. Lollapalooza was a blast, as it always is spending time with my amazing friends. Seeing Tool tour behind absolutely nothing wasn't so bad either. Other band highlights for me were Band of Horses, Passion Pit, Kings of Leon (again) and even Snoop Dogg because the crowd was contagious! I'm sure I'm missing lots of bands here. Making memories with my friends is always the best part - there were the tablecloth ponchos, the red contact lens, Maynard's wine in a high rise condo, sitting round a fire, and of course the Pants! I love Chicago!
Our family reunion was another unforgettable experience. I hope we continue it as an annual tradition. The setting this year was superb, at my cousins' KC and Kristi's farm in upstate New York. I know my girls will never forget that weekend. Let's see, playing "I'm Going on a Picnic" and making s'mores round the fire, getting odd looks at the Farmer's Market for our matching t-shirts, getting rained on after our cookout, Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame and of course getting in trouble at the hotel!
September started out with Teresa's Sweet 16 party, which I think she really appreciated and enjoyed. The month ended with the aforementioned highlight of the year, my trip to Cleveland and meeting Mark Lanegan.
Edgar Allen Poe dominated my October. First was his funeral in Baltimore and then Haunted Poe at Halloween.
November was quite the concert month for me. I won Mother of the Year award by taking Julia and Christa to see Miley Cyrus (NOT Hannah Montana!). I redeemed myself by seeing The Swell Season and Amanda Palmer.
Who can forget my crazy weekend in NYC in December? As I've said, that was one for the record books, and that's all I'll say, lol. The year also included several day trips to NYC, Christa's tap competitions, a night spent listening to Maya Angelou, a couple of Phillies games, and other excursions, like the National Cathedral in DC. Unfortunately December also included another worrisome, helpless feeling situation. I'm usually one to focus on the positive, however my nature is to want to fix things and set things on the right path again. When I am helpless in this regard, when there is nothing I can do but worry from afar, which doesn't help matters at all, this sets my personal world into a huge tizzy. I'm still recovering from that.
After putting the whole year into perspective, it wasn't half bad, the highs were real high, and the lows were very low. That's life though. I guess I wouldn't want it any other way, because how then would I appreciate what I do have? Having said that, there is always room for more. Hence my 3 wishes for 2010, which I will just list here, rather than elaborate, in order to infuse them with more power:
Health +
Excitement!!
Romance <3
I am more than ready for 2010 and whatever it may bring. One final word: Soundgarden!
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3 comments:
Excellent choice of wishes for '10, I hope you get all three-- but only the good kind of the second one! ;)
OMG I was going to say the exact same thing about the wishes.
Nice recap. I almost forgot about sitting around the fire.
I still think you should do the survey.
The night I posted this, I lay in bed thinking I should have clarified that excitement wish, but I did say excitement, not drama, so I hope it'll work out!
Some things I forgot to include:
my own health issue with my arm/neck (proves just how important my own health is, I need to remedy that),
going to see Them Crooked Vultures in October - a fabulous, fun show, and painting and redecorating my room in the spring, a long overdue splurge on myself.
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