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Copyright © 2010 Andrea Langworthy
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It’s that time of year again. As always, I look back at the past 12 months and exclaim how quickly they passed. Because it’s the end of a decade, too, retrospects have been in the newspapers and on television news shows. How could so much have happened in such a short span of time? I wonder recalling how the years sped by on fast-forward. It’s hard to believe that when the decade began in 2000, we hadn’t heard of anything called a “terrorist alert.” Couldn’t imagine what “orange alert” status might mean. Heck, we didn’t even have a Department of Homeland Security. But September 11th, 2001, changed all that. And altered the lives of most Americans. Many would say that was the defining moment of the decade. Just as some would point to President Obama’s election in 2008 saying it also defined the decade by giving hope to those who thought they wouldn’t live long enough to see a person of color elected to the highest office in our land.
For others, the defining moments have been personal and painful: they faced the death of a loved one, the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease, loss of job, or foreclosure of the home they’d always dreamed of owning.
On a smaller scale and happier note, as I look back, I’m reminded of the move my husband and I made to our present home in Rosemount. The result of a 2001 decision to down-size and live on one-level, we planned to stay a year and see what we liked and didn’t like about association-maintained living. The likes must outweigh the dislikes because we’ve lived here eight years. It’s been nearly seven years since I took a beginning writing class that led to this column and publication in some magazines and books. A bit longer since the birth of my twin granddaughters and the farewell to my nearly 30 year career as a car and truck salesperson. Nearly three years since my ex-husband and I buried a 20-year-old hatchet, met for lunch, and said good-bye with a hug. (Talk about a defining moment!)
What about you? If you look back 10 years, can you pat yourself on the back because you stopped smoking? Finally lost weight, went back to school, or helped put a man in the White House because he gave you hope? Did you better yourself or make things worse? Maybe you’re like me — gob-smacked by a decade of world events but wondering how I let the years slip past without doing more right in my own little corner of Rosemount. This is when I take out a pen and paper and write down my goals for the New Year. I can’t think ahead to 2020 any more than I can stop a terrorist attack or bring about world peace. But I can take it a step at a time; a day at a time. Let’s see: donate canned goods to the food shelf. Call a friend who’s feeling down. Write an inspiring column. Hmm … now, that could take an entire decade.