Well this is most likely my last post of the year as well as for this decade. Let me just say that back in 1999 when everyone was getting all geeked up about Y2K, if someone had told me the things that were going to happen to me in this last decade, I would have laughed my ass off. Seriously, that is not an exaggeration at all.
Apparently Time magazine has declared this decade that is coming to a close as the worse ever. On a personal note, I have to say the only way to sum up this decade is to say it was the best of times and the worst of times…yeah, that is rather poetic sounding but its the truth.
Let’s see, 10 years ago today, I was living in a snazzy pad in Chicago, the Spousal Unit and I had only been married a couple of years. I was back in school, busting ass to get my BA, working a job I enjoyed part-time with good folks in my life. I lived about a mile away from my folks, like a scene out of that flick Soul Food, we enjoyed Sunday night dinners weekly. The only bummer was that elder boy had just gone to live with his Papa and was earning so many frequent flier miles coming back and forth to Chicago, he could put business men to shame with his miles.
All in all it was a good life, being the naive young American I was looking forward to the 00’s and approaching my 30’s…I thought only good things were headed my way. Ha ha ha….like Americans on 9/12/01, I had no idea what the fuck was headed my way.
Nope, the 00’s turned out to be the decade that I would become a real grown up with real issues. See, in the 90’s I thought I was an adult much like Americans had certain thoughts about ourselves prior to the 00’s. I never thought bad days would darken my personal door but oh did they come. I have seen sickness, death, loss and a level of wariness I never knew was possible. Don’t get me wrong the 00’s weren’t all doom and gloom, 01 was decent after all I finally graduated from college that year. I even managed to have another child and achieve the so-called American dream of home ownership. These are all good things and things I couldn’t imagine not having in my life now but the level of loss and pain I have seen at times has almost threatened my very being…yeah, it’s that deep.
No, if nothing else I would say much like Americans moving forward in this new reality of a busted American dream, that I too can survive and in the midst of the madness possibly even thrive but it has not been easy at all. There is a part of me that wants to say good riddance to the 00’s but the realist in me wonders what is next? Or as I say whenever I look at the caller id box and see that a family member has called me, who died now? (there was a period of time literally when I heard from family, people were calling to tell me yet another relative had died)
So like Time Magazine, I have to say the 00’s personally leaned more towards being the worst of times with a smattering of good. So how about you? How was this last decade for you?
Have a Happy New Years and remember don’t drink and drive, after all New Years is simply amateur drinking night.
