First of all, how in the world can it be 2020? Wasn’t it just 2000 ten minutes ago? No? It’s just me? Very well then.

I have a lot of feelings leaving this decade behind. Without a doubt it’s been the most significant decade of my life. Let’s do a quick run through.

2010 – I became a full time preschool teacher. Got my first tattoo. Quit my serving job. Got married. Went to Disneyland, New Orleans, and on a cruise to the Bahamas.

2011 – We bought our first house and got pregnant with our first baby! Plus more Disneyland.

2012 – I quit teaching to stay at home. We had our first baby! I learned I have a hell of a time breastfeeding and my natural birth went out the window to boot. I learned to be okay with that. We also got a puppy when I was 6 months pregnant. We bought our first car together. And you guessed it, Disneyland. Just always assume we went to Disneyland a lot.

2013 – I got pregnant again! Hubby got a new job. We got another new to us car because it turns out kids don’t fit in trucks with jump seats! We took in a kitten that tried to live in my engine.

2014 – Baby #2 showed up! Another girl!

2015 – We became minivan people. Our oldest started preschool! I started tattoo work on what ended up being two large thigh pieces. I ran my first half marathon.

2016 – Our third daughter was born but we don’t know it yet! We all went to Aulani in Hawaii and the grown ups took a trip to Disney World. We decided we were going to be foster parents and got licensed by the end of December. We had to put down our oldest dog and it was super sad for all of us.

2017 – We got our first foster placement and also said goodbye. We found out that parenting a boy isn’t too much different from parenting a girl. We went to San Diego Comic Con for the first time. Kiddo number 2 started preschool. I ran my second half marathon!

2018 – We got pregnant and thought we were done fostering. Surprise, we got a call for a likely adoption of an 18 month old little girl. Yup, another girl. She moved in! We lost the baby and I had surgery. We got pregnant again! We adopted our daughter! We had an adoption party and all the grandpa type people in our lives helped build a play structure. We bought a travel trailer and a truck. We got to go to Comic Con without kids. Another cat showed up and decided we were her people.

2019 – And now it’s this year. This year we had our fourth daughter after keeping everyone (including ourselves) in suspense. We also decided we’re done having babies. Kiddo #3 started preschool. We went to comic con with all 4 kids! I lost my dad and had to write my first eulogy and obituary. We’re learning how to go about settling an estate.

It’s very bittersweet. The last decade has been all about creating our beautiful family and the next decade will be about raising them. By the end of the next decade we’ll have been married just shy of 20 years and we’ll have a senior in high school!

I spent a quarter of the last decade pregnant and it’s very strange to say goodbye to that part of my life. Unless things go off script, my days of baby bumps and ultrasounds are done. In a few years the diapers and cribs will be gone too. It feels very jarring.

It’s also strange to think my dad won’t be here to see the next 10 years. He was supposed to turn 60 in 2020 but instead we’ll be honoring him by going on an adventure on his birthday. I’m sad that my youngest girls won’t know him and I’m sad that at 32 I don’t have a dad.

Those two things combined makes the end of the decade feel extra profound.

I have so much to look forward to though! My body gets to be my own again. Well, as much as a mom’s body gets to be her own with small humans running around. We’re going to Disney World this year and as our kids get older we’ll be able to continue going on bigger adventures. We’re more financially secure going into this decade than we’ve ever been. Soon enough I’ll be able to hold real conversations with all my kids and before I know it they’ll all be ready to play outside. They can help with chores! Who knows, maybe I’ll even have time to blog regularly again.

I welcome 2020, and as much as a I am mourning the last decade, I’m excited for what I know the next one will bring.

Happy New Year!