Suburban Turmoil 2010: The Year in Review
It’s time once again to review the year that was here on Suburban Turmoil. 2010 was filled with the usual surprise and hilarity, as well as more than its share of pain and I can honestly say I’m totally different at the end of 2010 from who I was at the beginning. Why? Let’s review…
January started off with Nashville’s first MAJOR SNOW EVENT of 2010. You have to see the pictures for yourselves to believe the fearsomeness of Nashville’s most awe-inducing blizzards. I wrote about our Swine Flu-filled Christmas for my column in the Nashville Scene. My son renamed himself, and you won’t believe what he came up with. The Dirty Truth about my master bathroom was exposed. My first online brou ha ha of 2010 happened in the comments of a Scene column about gym “newbs.” I revealed a few shocking secrets about being a kindergarten classroom volunteer. Following an apparent new mommyblogging trend, I hired a personal assistant named Teeny Rockefeller. Shockingly, she didn’t last long. I wrote about a few hilarious neighborhood listservs feuds for the Scene. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter to my future daughter-in-law and WHOA, did people ever go NUTS in the comments. And I ended the month with a bittersweet epilogue to one of Nashville’s most talked-about news stories.
February got off to a rocky start when my mothering skills were unfairly judged by the local produce man. I asked for your best Mother-in-Law stories and boy, did you deliver! I called Sport Clips out as the Hooters of Hair and got some of the (unintentionally) funniest comments EVER! I explained why it might seem to the casual observer that I’m trying to escape my son when we’re at the grocery together. I wrote the now-infamous story of my husband’s ushanka. And I admitted the disturbing results of my many years of making sure my daughter regularly attended a playgroup as a baby and toddler.
March began with me returning from a business trip only to find Hubs had allowed a disturbing development to occur during my absence. I wrote a post about changes in the blogosphere and wondered whether I still fit in, and got a tremendous response from people who felt the same way. I eavesdropped on the weirdest conversation ever, and wrote about it for the Scene. I bragged about my children’s amazing and uncanny talents. Sick of cleaning up after my family, I wrote a few passive aggressive notes and left them for everyone to find. I joined with a few of my favorite bloggers of different faiths and beliefs to write about how we’re explaining death and the afterlife to our children. I wrote a column on my aversion to minivans– and how we ended up with something even worse. Bruiser turned three *sniff*. And I discovered that sometimes, being a mom hurts. BAD.
April began with me worrying that our ‘wired’ness is ruining our real-life interactions and relationships. I took some of my favorite photos of my kids, EVER. Punky, uncharacteristically, did something bad. Over at the Scene, I wrote about that rock-bottom feeling as a parent of realizing you’re repeating lines from Playhouse Disney during conversations with other adults. I wrung my hands a bit over lying about my daughter’s school absences and plenty of you chimed in with your own opinions on how to handle absences. We got a goldfish, which was quickly replaced by another goldfish… unbeknownst to my daughter. And I ended the month with another of my favorite columns of the year– this one was about The War of the Thermostat (which rages on even now!).
May? Well, May was life changing. Nashville flooded. Big time. For a few days, we actually lived on an island. Hundreds of families in our very own neighborhood lost their homes- and most of them had no flood insurance (This was, after all, a thousand-year flood). I wrote about the experience and asked you all to send any unused gift cards for me to distribute to victims. I thought a few of you might send them our way, but thousands and thousands of dollars in gift cards later, I am totally in awe at your response. You significantly helped so many families (it was my goal to give as many families as I could $100 in gift cards) and I can’t even express the impact it had on them to receive help from total strangers across the country. I wrote quite a bit about the flood’s aftermath, from how flooding affected families here to the mini breakdown I had a few days later to the families’ reactions to your giftcards. And in the wake of three unexpected days without power or access to a supermarket (and, almost, without running water, too), I made a list of what I wish I’d had on hand, a post I hope all of you will read. The flood changed me forever and was a true turning point in my life, one that I’m so glad I documented here, even if my blog traffic dipped significantly as I was going through it! Life went on, of course, and I wrote in the Scene of my dismay to find that my son’s naughty ways didn’t dissipate after the terrible twos came to an end… they got worse! I completed what to date is the most embarrassing Style Dare I’ve ever taken. And I had another big announcement- one that made 2010 a very different year indeed. I sold my style blog to CafeMom and became a professional blogger. The month ended with my daughter bringing home a shocking art project from school. Whew!
June started off with a showdown between my parents and me over a piece of furniture. I shared a time-honored secret on how smart moms get free childcare all summer long. Punky finished her first year of school with flying colors. I wrote about my irritation with the number of kids who call Hubs and me by our first names and you all had LOTS to say on that subject!
I came clean about one of my greatest fears and exposed myself as a former Mom Stalker. After years of hoping and praying and fingers-crossing, Yvonne and Lindsay 2.0 became a reality. I told the tale of my trolls. All two of them. I bravely wore a strapless romper all day long as a Style Dare. And I realized I’d never be “the cool parent,” and decided I was okay with that.
July opened with the World Cup which was on 24-7 around here and which almost was my undoing because of one factor. Punky made friends with a girl four years her senior and I worried how she’d take it when the friendship inevitably fizzled out. I wrote another favorite Scene column, this time about my incredibly lazy approach to potty training my son. I took another Style Dare, this time trying out the infamous Booty Pop. Punky revealed her hatred of The Pounder and we went to the beach for 10 days of sheer bliss. Oh, and I learned I’m doomed. Possibly.
In August, I had a LOT going on. I went to BlogHer on the heels of our beach trip, and a LOT happened there. Bruiser joined a soccer team. Briefly. Punky started first grade (my heart). Bruiser began showing signs that he may have a future career in acting. Or, more specifically, melodrama. I joined my friends for a boudoir photography session (as an observer only, mkay?) and wrote about it. I wrote an open letter to a mom who was showing off a little more than she needed to on her morning jog and predictably, got plenty of opinions on it in the comments. Bruiser played his first (and as it turned out, ONLY) soccer game. But! I GOT PICTURES! And that’s all that mattered. Punky had an incredibly traumatic experience at the hands of a swim instructor and she’s still not swimming now, thankyouverymuch.
I began September by admitting that I’m an addict, followed by walking a catwalk in New York City during Fashion Week WITH NO PANTS ON. What can I say? It was a weird month. Punky wasn’t invited to a birthday party and I. Died. It turned out I was hardly alone, as many of you released your angst on the issue in the comments. Apparently God has a sense of humor, because the next thing I knew, Punky was invited to ANOTHER kid’s birthday party!! One that involved me getting (practically) naked in front of all the other parents! Woo hoo! After all that drama, how could I not come up with a Reverse Bucket List? AND One Hour of Girl Power a day? After all that, I got offline and enjoyed the fall season with my kids and husband. And I ended the month explaining what makes my son’s boisterous behavior and temper tantrum totally NOT A PROBLEM.
By October, I had become obsessed with the television show Hoarders. And yes, I’m still relentlessly purging. I asked when to say when on highchairs, strollers and sippycups, admitting that until recently, we still used all three, and you all came out of the woodwork with opinions on the issue. I came to the conclusion that a child simply can’t succeed in school without MAJOR parental involvement and you all had plenty to say on that subject as well. Bruiser went on his first roller coaster ride and the pictures! Oh! The pictures! And perhaps due to all those nasty Hoarders episodes, I had bedbugs on the brain. Still do. Yick.
November rolled around and I disclosed a certain problem of my husband’s that very nearly derailed Halloween. I confessed another embarrassing secret and discovered that I was hardly alone in my shame. I went to see a chiropractor for the first time– THAT was interesting! I searched for my son’s sensitive side and came up empty handed. And just in time for Thanksgiving, Punky shared her famous turkey roasting recipe with the world, while I made the painful discovery that I am not and never will be Martha Stewart.
And that brings us to December, the month when Hubs made what has to be his biggest on-air fashion faux pas (so far) of all time. I revealed my secret wish that our youngest daughter will grow up to be a nerd. I convinced Punky to dance, and discovered that I have a secret longing to join the dance as well. I shared with you all a few of the ways we made Christmas mean more than Santa and presents to our youngest kids. (And it worked- When Punky ran downstairs on Christmas morning, she was screaming, “It’s Jesus’ birthday! It’s Jesus’ birthday!” SCORE.) The ushanka returned, courtesy of my husband, to local live television and I threatened revenge. I proved once again that we are not lacking for bad Santas in this country. Christmas kicked my ass and I wrote about the Mom Holidays, which are (mercifully) just around the corner. And finally, I recapped 2010 in a post.
This was a big year for me personally and professionally. Huge, really. I’ve spent much of this year really thinking about life, why we’re here, what’s important, and what I’m going to do with the time I have, and I feel like I’m finally ready to write about it all. In addition to all the funny/snarky/interesting other minutia of our daily lives, of course.
One thing that really struck me at the end of this year was how quickly things can change from one year to the next. Not only did so many people around us lose everything in the flood between last year and this one, but I also sent out Christmas cards this year for the first time in a while and as I went down my old master address list, I couldn’t believe how many people on it had died. It was sobering to realize that in another five or six years, there will probably be several more names to cross off that list.
Nothing is guaranteed. Everything could change in an instant. It is so important for us to make the most of what we have NOW, and to appreciate it. I write this as much to remind myself as anyone else who reads these words.
2011? It’s going to be our year. I can feel it.
Happy New Year, everyone.
