It’s the end of another decade, and it’s time for the 2019 Retrospective! Let’s face it: if everybody in this family was boring and never did anything, this would take a lot less time to do.
When I look through the stories of the year, the ones that are the most significant are definitely Squeak passing away, and the hardships that some of those who were close to us went through. We are all so thankful that Zachary came through his surgery with flying colors. With those exceptions, I think that 2019 was another great year. And of course with Squeak’s departure, we welcomed Murphy, who immediately made himself at home and taught us a thing or two about relaxing.
Miranda kicked our year off by turning 15. She’s maturing and growing up, even if it seems like she’s stopped getting taller. She’s continuing to explore different artistic things, got her learner’s permit and even applied for a job, but she didn’t get a callback. She’s only had two driving lessons so far. Not the most enthusiastic learner ever. She’s much more enthusiastic about environmental causes. I think that the most significant event for the year for her was first getting accepted into the pre-IB and then into the IB diploma program at Sir Winston Churchill. All the homework has really cut into her creative and reading time this fall, but it will pay off in the end.
Ian was making news on many different fronts this year, unlike some other years where I had to wonder if he was still in the family… He continued his passion for making videos and for solving the Rubik’s Cube. He really killed it at his piano recital this year. He’s almost as tall as Tammy now, and it’s hard to remember that he’s over three years younger than Miranda. He did manage to beat us all at Catan for the first time this year… and posted about it! He and I continued our Wheel of Time read, finishing the Eye of the World, the Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. We also did a massive, 22-movie rewatch of the MCU movies.
Tammy did better than usual this year, too. She turned 47 which was a regular work day, but her Mother’s Day was stressful as we waited for word if Squeak was okay. She also got a chance to enjoy two of her passions: listening to AC/DC and people watching during Stampede. Then there was a worry that hung over us for a couple of months this year. A positive test resulted in going to the Colon Cancer Clinic and then a colonoscopy. It all was clear, but we worried. Our relationship sometimes seems to be defined by overcoming a set of challenges. We had a good one this year: challenging each other to read all of the Jane Austen novels. Finally, she thought she might get a chance to sit on a jury in a murder trial, but her hopes were dashed.
I had another good year. A new boss at work meant new responsibilities, but they were acknowledged. I got my 15-year award a bit early. I am going to take credit for our great cider-making experiment, even if everybody helped (a lot). It went pretty well, but I’d say the result was only middling. I’d like to try again, but the tree didn’t produce any apples. I turned 46, and continued my run as the world’s best dad. I did realize that I have a dependency: my Apple Watch. It was out of commission for a couple of weeks and it nearly killed me. I also took some time in October to finally rip all of the DV tapes into iTunes.
Our cycling exploits are covered in the Cycling Roundup, but our other family sport, skiing, had a great year. We started late, and Calgary had a month-long deep freeze, but we got out a handful of times and enjoyed beautiful conditions. Nakiska opened early this winter, and we actually skied on Christmas day. Even when it was summer, the family managed to do some downhilling.
We kept up our streak of traveling back to Victoria for a summer visit, and this year’s was pretty awesome. It all started with a notion that Ian would enjoy the ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. Everything else flowed from that: a first time up the Icefields Parkway, a return to Prince George for the first time since 2008, a first time driving to Prince Rupert, and a first time driving from Port Hardy. Our trip was torpedoed by Squeak’s death, but we recovered and had a fantastic rest of the week and Tour de Victoria. Tammy didn’t appreciate having to drive back to Calgary the next day, and I didn’t take enough vacation days either.
I traveled a lot more for work in the first half of the year: flying first class to Halifax (with a side trip to Peggy’s Cove), Palm Springs, Virden, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Tech Trek, and Vernon. In the second half it was just a single trip to Edmonton. One upside to working on the Husky Energy project from September through December: less travel.
We didn’t really do a lot on the house this year. An upgrade to the security system was the highlight. Only a tiny bit of painting. I think Stephanie won this category with the inside-outside cat run. There were more changes in the computing department than I expected. The writing was on the wall with three iPhones 6s, and when Apple introduced the iPhone 11, Tammy, Miranda and Ian were not going to be denied. The continuing project of the ii News entered a new era with the migration from on-premises to cloud computing. The unexpected thing was Dad’s gifting of new MacBook Airs to the kids. Both are getting good use, for homework and for movie making.
There was one more departure from our family in 2019: Tammy’s Golf. It had given us lots of headaches in the past couple of years, and when its turbo blew in Kananaskis, Tammy posted an ad and then we became a one-car family.
How can the year seem like it was over in a blink and yet be so full of stuff? I guess that’s the way of things. Happy end of 2019 to everyone and all the best in the new year and the new decade.
