Your decade in review

[IMADreamer]

It's hard to believe it but the teens are basically in the books so I guess it's a good time to go back and take a look at what happened.

The early part of this decade for me was marked by two big events. My gf getting cancer and selling my business, which was certainly related to my gf getting cancer. Man she fought it so hard and we thought she had it beat. It kind of came back all at once and all the sudden. Basically went from happy and healthy to passing away in four days. God damn that was terrible, but my life is so much better for having her in it, and I hope she would say the same about me. I know for sure I'm a better person now for having been with her and going through that. We had some great times I will never forget. She was an incredible woman, and a light in a dark world.

Earlier that year 2012 we had the worst drought I can remember, and I think that anyone can outside of the dust bowl. We began harvest a couple weeks earlier than normal and were done by the time we normally start. There was just nothing there to harvest. The first day we harvested all day and only got one semi truck load. There was this uneasy silence all day. That night as we gathered in the shop for our nightly winding down bs session there were no laughs. My Dad had tears in his eyes and just said tomorrow will be better. He knew it wouldn't. I've only seen my Dad cry a couple times and before that only when someone died. Man that was a really tough night.

2012 as I said earlier was hard. Before my gf died, my Grandfather died, then a month later my Grandmother. Other than my parents they were the two biggest influences in my life. I loved them dearly and 2012 kicked off a pretty dark time in my life.

Things would get better, it seemed like for a few years I was just on cruise control, just existing and not living. There were some really dark days and a war going on in my head. I almost lost that war a few times.

I did however to break out of it try new things. I got into standing mile racing which is so much fun, and I've met so many cool people doing it. I also started flipping cars for fun, but now it's turned into a bit of a business. I've gotten more adventurous with it too, to the point where I'm buying cars I actually want and try to drive them a while then flip them for profit. I'll get burnt doing it someday but whatever.

Through the darkness I really found out I have some great friends. If anything I think that's the story of the last part of this decade. My group is small, but there are six of us that are as tight as family. This group of friends led me to my now wife, who I suppose is the story of the last few years. I was sure after Nic passed I'd never date again, I didn't want to, but Michelle brought a spark back. She's such an sweet heart and we just laugh and goof off and have fun. It's been amazing. She also got me to go on a real vacation, basically my first one ever. We are definitely doing that again. So I suppose that was a huge bullet point in my decade. Yellowstone and the Tetons. Heaven on earth, I want to live there someday.

Some random stats on my decade.

I went to 104 concerts.
27 Cardinal games
12 Blues games
visited 18 states
owned 7 cars
8 tractors
two dogs
got married
two lawn mowers

[Fat_Bulldog]

It was quite the decade for me as well. A lot of growing up and realizations about life, etc. in general.

Major Highlights:
- Lost both of my parents
- Watched my first daughter grow into a beautiful person
- We had our second daughter in 2017 at almost 40 years old
- I completed my Bachelor of Science
- I advanced my career beyond my wildest dreams and live a life I never thought possible for me and my family
- I bought my dream home in April of 2018
- Friends and people who were important to me 10 years ago have changed quite a bit (my circle is much smaller now) but the relationships I do have are very real
- I am enjoying my family and my kids for the most part now (I have slowed down tremendously in 10 years and it's a great thing)

[GeddyWrox]

- Started the decade with two daughters, 7 & 4. Ending the decade with a 17 year old son and a 14 year old daughter. Both are amazing kids. I am a very lucky dad.
- 7+ years ago my wife decided she was in a spot where most people either cheat or get divorced. She thought maybe there was another path. After considering it a while, I agreed. We each have other significant others now, and our family is a lot bigger. It definitely keeps life interesting. Never a dull moment.
- Started the decade as a consultant with traveling expectations. I was missing out on way too much with my kids. Found a local job doing the same thing for the same pay. I've been at this job for 5+ years now and still enjoy it.
- Hit a high weight of around 380 (one doctor's visit on the patient portal shows my weight at 377). Finally decided to do something about it when I went in for a consult with a surgeon for a lower back issue and he refused me as a patient and recommended gastric bypass instead. Walked out appalled, started doing keto almost immediately after. In one year I went from 350ish to about 280. In the second year I got down to about 250. I'm still hovering around that 250-255 mark today. I also still have a calcified disc protrusion, but ibuprofen keeps the pain at bay for the most part and I found a different surgeon that I will go to if I ever need the surgery. And for the record, the new surgeon said she would've operated on me even at 350+, it's just a harder recovery, and that other guy was an ass (my words, not hers). Side note to the weight loss, I was on metformin for teh diabeetus (but no insulin yet)...but I was able to stop the metformin within a couple months of starting keto, and my A1C numbers look perfect now. Suck it diabeetus!
- Wrecked my brand new Murano a couple years ago. Insurance fixed it, but I'm still pissed at myself.
- Took my daughter to see Paul McCartney. That's a memory we will both keep with us forever.
- Also saw Foo Fighters, Tool, Billy Joel, U2, Rush's last tour and countless baseball and hockey games.
- Helped dozens of women get into IT by volunteering with Launch Code for the CoderGirl program.
- FINALLY GOT TO SEE THE BLUES WIN THE CUP!

[heyzeus]

I lost my grandfather and then my job in January of 2010. When my grandpa died, I told my boss I needed to go to St. Louis for the funeral. He browbeat me, and told me it would be unpaid, and suggested I not go because of work obligations. Just a few weeks later, at about 3 am after an 18 hour day, he told me I'd never be a decent lawyer. I don't remember if he told me to find another place to work or we agreed I needed to. It doesn't matter.

In April of that year I started at my new firm, which has been my home ever since. I work with supportive, smart, dedicated people. We do good work, and I'm backed up. I became a partner a few years later, and I only wish I'd gotten [expletive] canned so much earlier from my awful last job. Around 2017 I managed to help my friend who was still stuck at that firm to get out as well.

My son was born in September 2011. The Cardinals then made the playoffs right after his birth, and I watched that entire magical postseason run with a sleeping (or screaming) newborn Zeus Jr. on my lap. I had to stifle every impulse to scream and go nuts with every Freese/Berkman/Freese heroics in Game 6 so as not to wake him. He's 8 now, and just a magical gift of a child.

Zues Jr Jr was born in 2014. We didn't win the world series that year, which I mostly don't blame on her. She's brilliant and spirited, taught herself to read when she was still 3, and isn't even in kindergarten yet. She loves unicorns as much as her dad.

My dad was diagnosed with stomach and esophogeal cancer this year. The prognosis isn't great. He likely will have surgery to remove much of both organs early next year. I'm not sure how to feel about this coming year -- whether to be hopeful or fearful or both. I'm very nervous a lot of the time.

[Radbird]

2010: Lost my dad at 85. WWII vet. Died in Alzheimer’s ward at MO Veterans Home in Cape. On Memorial Day.
2011: WS was bittersweet. Dad wasn’t there to share but watching it with mini-rad and then driving to STL for parade was priceless.
2012: Mini-rad moved to Boston for grad school.
2013: Started new job which I would ride to retirement.
2014: Kidney stones. Lots of kidney stones.
2015: Mom passed on New Year’s Day. Settling her estate broke the family.
2016: Met many GRBers and witnessed Holliday’s last game
2017: Moved from Colo to NH
2018: Mrs Rad’s health issues (stroke & RA diagnosis)
2019: Last day of work is 12/31.

[Freed Roger]

Moved into second half of my life, changed perspective and measurement of time (like what happened within this decade) is fuzzier. Moved into geologic time of sorts

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Lost my Grandpa to cancer
Had a kid
Got married
Bought a house
Did a lot of house work
Had another kid
Did more house work
Changed jobs which was a tough decision but has kind of propelled me to heights in my profession I don't think would have happened at my old job.
Did more housework
Lost my Grandma who at an incredibly healthy age of 86 got hit by a car taking a casserole to a church fund raiser. That was a kick in the nuts. One of those phone calls you get and know right away someone died and in the 10 or so seconds it takes for the person on the other end of the phone to spit out what happened everyone you care about goes through your mind.

[TheoSqua]

Oh man, such an eventful decade for me.

2010: Bought my first car.
2010: Celebrated my grandparents 60th anniversary.
2010: Started dating my current wife.
2011: Got Married.
2011: Started working my current job
2012: Bought my first house.
2013: Quit my current job.
2015: Went back to my current job.
2015: Had my first kid.
2016: Bought my second house.
2016: Had my second kid.
2016: 2nd kid had open heart surgery.
2019: Finished by Bachelor's degree.
2019: Remodeled house.
2020: Celebrate my grandparents 70th anniversary (3 months to go!)

In 2015, my first daughter's initial round of state mandated medical tests diagnosed her with Pompe Disease. She was given months to live, and we were told that the test had a very high degree of accuracy. So we spent about 6 weeks taking her to doctors and doing tests and giving her this aggressive medicine only for the confirmation test to come back as a false positive.

In 2016, our second daughter was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and we were a little skeptical given what happened to our first kid. Nope, she went full bore. She was born with a Duodenal atresia (basically her pancreas grew into her intestines and blocked it completely) and an A/V Canal Defect that required surgery 3 days after she was born and open heart surgery at 6 months old. She successfully came out of both surgeries and is now a healthy happy total pain in the butt little three year old.

Those were my age 29-30 years and i'm pretty sure I aged more during that time than I did the rest of the decade.

[JCShutout]

Hell of a decade.

-Started it iirc still living in a commune as live in staff of a homeless shelter (which will be closing its doors this year).
-Got married.
-Moved in with the gf/then wife.
-Changed careers twice.
-Bought a house.
-Wife got sick and was diagnosed with a health issue, leading us to trying our now current eating lifestyle. (Paleo)
-Lost my two grandfathers, and my wife lost one grandfather and one grandmother. We also lost one cat, and adopted another.
-Dad had numerous health scares.
-Committed to being healthy, and over nearly the entire decade, lost about 150 lbs.
-Recommitted to TKD after my wedding and went from green belt (or so) to 3rd degree blackbelt.
-Competed in sparring and poomsae in many local, and one international tournament where some super tall kid 10 years younger than me just snuck by me (4-3) on the way to the gold in the age 18-29 heavyweight division. (I was 33, with no other competitor over the age of 23 until the age 48+ division, so I competed with the kids.) In a local tournament, got destroyed by a former Team USA alternate 5 or so years my junior. I may have lost 13-4, (I think they were generous keeping his score low so the match didn't end early with the 10 point rule), but damnit, I scored 4 points... was black and blue all over for a week though as I had to walk through some heavy kicks to get my points, but I wasn't getting shut out.
-Concussion later that year in a silly kickball game. 6 months and full recovery. Very lucky.
-Learned that if I ever wanted to do anything well, I needed to learn how to say no to things which seem good, but just aren't worth it because time is precious and limited.
-Completed a Go Ruck Tough event, hiked 50 miles in just over 16 hours, and Rucked an additional 50 miles in around 40 hours (with around 45-50lbs on my back) in about a 8 or 9 week stretch this past year.
-Began a different spiritual/religious path.
-Started the decade with the magic of the 2011 Cards run and ended it with the magic of the Blues 2019 Cup. Attended the watch party for the first Blues SCF win in history, and attended the ONLY Blues Home SCF win in history. Still paying back the money spent on tickets and cup winning merch. Totally worth every penny.
-Lots of small local trips with the wife, and one big trip to Orlando for Harry Potter World.

[JoeMcKim]

- Hit a high weight of around 380 (one doctor's visit on the patient portal shows my weight at 377). Finally decided to do something about it when I went in for a consult with a surgeon for a lower back issue and he refused me as a patient and recommended gastric bypass instead. Walked out appalled, started doing keto almost immediately after. In one year I went from 350ish to about 280. In the second year I got down to about 250. I'm still hovering around that 250-255 mark today. I also still have a calcified disc protrusion, but ibuprofen keeps the pain at bay for the most part and I found a different surgeon that I will go to if I ever need the surgery. And for the record, the new surgeon said she would've operated on me even at 350+, it's just a harder recovery, and that other guy was an ass (my words, not hers). Side note to the weight loss, I was on metformin for teh diabeetus (but no insulin yet)...but I was able to stop the metformin within a couple months of starting keto, and my A1C numbers look perfect now. Suck it diabeetus!

That doctor was an ass but if he wasn't an ass you might've never had the motivation to lose so much weight so take it for what it is.