January 24th - Reflecting on a Decade

 The week's post is a little on the delayed side. In doing so there has been a lot of reflection the last few days. A decade ago today, Jan 24th, I moved from NY to VA. It was a world wind of firsts. Yes, I had already finished undergrad a few years before, had an adult job or two that was partially paying the student loan debt, and moved out of my parents and up to live with one of my sisters for about half a year. Moving to VA however, this was the first big adult step taken fully, I'd found a job, a grad program I was hoping to get into, an apartment, packed up most of my belongs (I have way too much stuff to fit into a one- or two-bedroom apartment so plenty in storage back in NY) and drove to VA to start living on my own. Since than there has been
1) 10 moves to 9 apartments (and a 3 month stay back in NY)
2) 2 internships
3) 5 jobs
4) Multiple trips to the National Zoo, National Mall (and the Smithsonian's), touring the monuments
5) Returned to school, earned a master's in taxation
6) Irish festivals
7) Celtic Thunder concerts
8) Craft fairs/street fairs
9) Volunteering at Great Falls NPS
10) Colleagues who become friends and friends that become family
11) Medical mysteries that turn into autoimmune; chronic pain; chronic fatigue and hEDS diagnoses
12) Cutting gluten from my diet :( It's not fun being gluten free
13) Too many doctors, some of them actually decent people too
14) Lots of physical therapy
15) Knee surgery (the 3rd one) and plenty of other injuries
16) Bushels of apples turned into apple sauce, peaches to peach sauce
17) Countless times baking up a storm
18) Monthly/Semimonthly visits from family
and plenty of other things to keep me busy...

It's crazy to think just how much has changed in a decade, and yet how much seems to still be the same. Guess I'll see what is to come in the next year let alone the next decade!