I was recently asked to map out a timeline of my last year, detailing all the highs and lows that occurred. At first I thought it was a good idea; that was until I started thinking of the last year. After agonizing for at least five minutes, I had only thought of five or so major things to put on my timeline and none of them felt like they were worth much with the exception of helping get Mosaic off the ground. So like any mature and rational person would, I ignored the “project” until the next week when everyone was supposed to share. At our weekly gathering we started talking and a couple of people read their timelines. One person’s timeline was filled with pregnancy and the birth of their first child. The next person’s detailed a year of physical and mental struggles due to a major injury. As I listened to both of these stories I thought to myself, “How in the world do these people remember this stuff?”
When it got to be my turn I freely admitted that I hadn’t done the exercise and resolved to have it done for the next week. My intentions were good, I swear, but as I sat down again I could not do it. I thought maybe it was because I’m not a feeler. Relatively speaking I never get too high or too low and the so called even keel-ness isn’t good for timelines. Or maybe it is because the life I lead is just really boring. The reality is probably a combination of the two but I came out of the questions with a different outlook.
You see, my annotated life just looks a little different. Instead of milestones there are little moments that make my life rich and eventful. My improvised timeline looks something like this:
May ’10: Beat Nathan at tennis and felt totally BA.
June ’10: Enjoyed countless barbeques with my family and laughed uncontrollably at inappropriate dinner table talk.
July ’10: Spent 4th of July scaring the living daylights out of my friends and laughing until the point of nausea.
August ’10: Made a lot of jokes about “pulling the goalie.” Slow clapped for teenage girl too scared to cliff jump into the lake (Got scowled at by said girl).
September ’10: Had beers and smores with a great couple while throwing flour into the fire and saying Harry Potter spells. (Highly flammable and highly entertaining)
October ’10: Started actually enjoying hanging out with women and had some of the best coffee dates of my life.
November ’10: Had a really great unexpected phone conversation with an old friend that reminded me how much I love them. Developed a new friendship over gmail chat and twitter.
December ’10: Planned stellar NYE surprise with the best co-conspirator and had more quality conversations that I could count.
January ’11: Read Little Women for the umpteenth time and loved every word.
February ’11: Got a couple letters that made me feel like one of the most special people in the world. Cried for the first time in forever.
March ’11: Had a blast in Chicago surrounded by a lot of love. Shared an amazing week at sea with my husband and our friends. Read a Nora Roberts book against my will and didn’t hate it.
April ’11: Hugged a new friend for the first time, one of the greatest hugs ever. Shared tons of witty banter via email. Reignited my passion for sunflower seeds.
Nothing special, no major milestones, but from the looks of it, I had a really great year.
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