Here’s why I don’t have hobbies: I ain’t got time for that s%*t. So far, 2014 has proven to be one hell of a year, and I’m really sort of amazed that Paul and I have kept it together. We’ve had some great ups and terrible downs; we’ve had a total of 10 plan/event free weekends, and since we’re only on the 10th month, you can see how the math works out.
I realize it’s not the end of the year, so I may be jumping the gun on a “reflections on 2014 post,” but I’m afraid if I don’t post about it now, I’ll run out of time—time which is supposed to be spent on new hobbies.
The detailed list of our year-to-date is below, but to summarize:
- We finished renovations on and moved into our new house
- We planned a wedding and got hitched
- We lost 2 people very near and dear to our hearts
- We lost 2 pets who made us smile every day
- We will have gone out of town 21 times
- We will have thrown or been thrown 4 showers, and
- We will have attended 4 weddings and
- 3 bachelor/bachelorette weekends
- I have worked full-time
- While playing tennis twice per week and, in the near future,
- Taking French lessons twice per week
- Paul has run his construction business while
- Going to school full-time (and making straight A’s); on top of that he has
- Managed 13 rental properties, two of which had renovations completed this year.
- And of course there are the holidays and birthdays—because we both have large families, these are many (and very special).
So I want to collect my thoughts now—I want to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going, both metaphorically and literally. I want to carve out mental and emotional space for learning and growing, and to do this, I need to wrap up this year and begin setting it aside.
It’s been a phenomenal and tragic 9 months. The overlying theme has been family and friends. They are what make us strong and keep us going. I want to give 2014 the credit it’s due so I can take a deep breath and make way for new year—one that’s sure to be filled with lots of love, lots of travel, and lots of random hobbies.
I also want a record of what’s happened this year so I can refer to it for strength, memories, and inspiration. Here’s our calendar of events; read it if you want to vicariously experience our exhaustion.
January
- Jan-May: Paul in School.
Paul’s a giant nerd and won’t settle for anything less than a high-A.
So he works diligently and assigns himself ridiculously complicated projects.
- I Ran the “Shrimp and Grits” 5k in North Charleston: This was done while slightly under the influence of vodka, because I’m that good (celebrated a good friend’s b-day the night before and danced a little too late). Was worth the effort because was rewarded with shrimp and grits.
- January 29: Snow day!! This is HUGE in SC, as we rarely get snow. The whole state shuts down and everyone freaks the eff out. Paul and I got in the hot tub.
February
- Feb-May: Kourt on 2 tennis teams
- Feb 5-9: Work trip in Detroit; stayed a few days to party with fam.
- Feb 15: Sexy Lady bridal shower thrown by my best-ies; got tons of awesome . . . stuff. The theme was French: lots of crepes, lots of champagne—perfect!
- Feb 25: My sweet dog, Piddy died. He was my first dog, and I still think about him every day. Such a good boy. He went out eating a doughnut and steak, as he would have wished.
March
- March 8: Moving weekend; we have way too much crap.
- March 10: Paul’s dad, Jimmie, admitted to hospital for 6 weeks, 1 of which was spent in ICU.
- March 13: Traveled to Charleston and back for my sister’s birthday.
- March 14: Tybee weekend for St. Pat’s with friends and fam. Paul earns nickname PUI: Paul Under the Influence after successfully falling out of random person’s pick-up truck without spilling his beer.
- March 21: Greenville weekend with my two best-ies (see sidebar of Saturday’s consumption and be jealous (or afraid)).
- March 29: Tennis team surprises me with tennis themed bridal shower and a super awesome cake!!
April
- April 11: Charleston for the night for seafood at my sister’s.
Our family, because they rock, likes to get together regularly to steam large batches of shrimp, blue crab, and oysters. - April 19: Fancy Lady bridal shower thrown by my future cousin-in-law and aunt-in-law.
Got all the serving pieces Paul could never want. Was fantastic.
- April 24: Old Crow Medicine Show concert in celebration of Paul’s b-day. Paul dances like a hillbilly because that’s the only dance he knows.
- April 25 weekend: Paul’s b-day weekend. He goes camping with the dudes, consumes moonshine.
May
- May 3: Ran the “Crawdaddy Dash” 5k. Occurs to me that I only ever run races if shellfish are involved.
- May 16, 4-day weekend: Bachelor/Bachelorette Party on Tybee Island: Best. Weekend. Ever. Tybee does a “Beach Bum Parade,” which is essentially a giant water gun fight on an island. Will definitely become a tradition.
- May 24: Wedding Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. Wonderful food, heartfelt speeches, lots of love, family, and friends. We’re the luckiest people ever.
- May 25: Weddin’. Best. Day. Ever. Paul dances like a hillbilly.
- May 26-May 31: Mini-moon in Nashville. We found the Tardis and ate a crap-ton of hot chicken.
June
- June 8: Paul’s grandmother, Mimi died. She was such a sweet and caring woman, and she left a legacy of the best collard greens & mac and cheese you’ve ever eaten.
- June 11-12: Mimi’s wake & funeral.
- June 19-22: Kourt goes to CT to see her niece graduate; Paul goes to Folly Beach to hang out on a boat.
July
- July 4: Spent the holiday weekend in Charleston with P’s fam. We cooked out and played board games. The girls won, natch.
- July 12-19: Bahamas week with my awesome cousin and her awesome husband. We learn the meaning of fulcrum, get “blotto in the grotto,” and consume our weight in Sky Juice.
- July 26: Folly Beach weekend with a good friend and her family. Purchased a sarong and still have no clue how to wear it.
August
- Aug-Dec: Paul in School; continues tradition of over-complicating assignments to “wow” his professors.
- August 8 weekend: Paul goes white water rafting in West VA; Kourt goes to Charleston to hang with sister-in-law. We beach it.
- Aug 22: Friend’s bachelorette party in Myrtle Beach. Arms were sore from holding them above my head for 4 hours while dancing. Realize this is my punishment for being a horrible dancer, yet insisting on doing it in public anyway.
- Aug 24: Go to Charleston for brother’s b-day. Watch slideshow of siblings’ early years in the 60s and 70s. Find the best picture ever of my sister Kara, as a baby, going down a slide, back when safety was optional.
- Aug 29 Weekend: Paul goes to New Orleans accidentally during Southern Decadence to “buy a sailboat” with a bachelor and two other friends. Hangover IV ensues. Kourt goes to her godson’s 2nd bday party. Cuteness ensues.
September
- Sept-Nov: Kourt on 2 tennis teams.
- Kourt kindof on a kickball team.
- Kourt begins French lessons in preparation for next summer’s trip to Provence.
- Sept 6: Super pretty garden wedding on a plantation. Paul dances like a hillbilly.
- Mid-September: Paul’s dad collapses and is admitted to ER then ICU and dies just days later. I could write a book about Jimmie—about his character, his boundless love, and his strength. I could write endlessly about disease, and loss, and grief, but that is for another time. For now, know that the world lost one of its greatest men and that those closest to him have holes in their hearts that can never be filled, though they’ll be patched with memories of his love and his laughter. At his wake and funeral, we are reminded how much he was loved, and how much of an influence he was on every person he met.
- Sept 20th weekend: Trip to CT for the Big E with sister and cousin, followed by the sweetest most intimate backyard wedding in St. Louis. Paul dances like a hillbilly. The Big E is a giant fair for all the New England states where you can get Connecticut cigars, Vermont flannel, Rhode Island oysters, Massachusetts clam chowder, and Main Lobster Rolls. Puts the SC State Fair to shame with our pork-chops on sticks, though to be fair, we’ll have MC Hammer this year, while the Big E only had Darius Rucker. So ha!
October
- October 1: My favorite chicken, Butterball, dies from eating too many rocks. Crazy bird had my heart. Read more about her here.
- October 11: Octoberfest in Cola! Followed by Jam Room music fest and people watching at the Bonzaicon Convention downtown.
- Future-Cast, Oct 15: Going to the aforementioned SC State Fair; is debatable whether or not we’ll actually see The Hammer. Personal goal is to watch barrel racing.
- Future-Cast, Oct 18 weekend: Going to mountain wedding /camping in NC. Looking forward to Paul dancing like a hillbilly—and hoping that because we’ll be in the NC mountains, he’ll finally fit in.
- Future-Cast, Oct 31: My bday!!! (And Halloween.) Thinking we’ll either be Marky-Mark and one of his backup dancers or Daenerys Targaryen and one of her dragons.
Future-Cast: November
- Debating throwing a Clue-themed dinner party. If I do, will naturally be blogged about as a hobby because party planning is a hobby, right?
- Nov 5: Going to the Coastal Carolina Fair in Charleston. They actually still have freak shows, and I can’t WAIT to see the snake lady!
- Nov 16: Throwing a baby shower for a super cute friend.
- Nov 20: Going back down to Charleston for a friend’s wedding celebration. Guess what? Paul will dance like a hillbilly.
- 27: Turkey Day. Have decided run the “Turkey Day Run and Gobble Wobble” 5k in Charleston even though there won’t be any shellfish. But there will be shellfish at my sister’s house for our even better than Thanksgiving tradition of
- Super awesome family seafood night on Friday the 28th.
December
- Dec 5: Will throw our very own oyster roast, co-hosted with my best-ie at her house because she’s super.
- Dec 19 Weekend: Going to Asheville for Biltmore at Christmas and relaxing mountain weekend with the fam.
- And of course there’s Christmas, which means parties and presents, baking and charity, family and friends, and light festivals and candle-lit services. I cried a little typing this.
And when 2015 rolls around, we’re bringing in the new year by skiing in Colorado.
What a year; what a ride. I’m just about ready to get off this train though, and maybe next year, we’ll stick to a more reasonable schedule. On second thought, nah 🙂
The next post will be a hobby, I swear. xo