This was a decade of change for me. I turned 30 in 2010 and was determined to make a lot of life changes personally and professionally.
Personally: After 3 years of trying my husband and I decided that we would visit a fertility doctor in 2010 and in February of 2011 we found out that we were expecting! Mia brought us so much joy and we were in a place that we felt comfortable saying that if God was gracious enough to give us another baby it would complete our family, but if that was not the plan for us we would enjoy every minute as a family of 3. Well, in February of 2013 we found out we were expecting again! 21 weeks into my pregnancy we had an ultrasound and found out that we were expecting twin girls! This was the blessing that did complete our family.
My husband and I made the big decision to relocate closer to his job and our families. After my father in law passed away in 2014 it was important to us to be close to my mother in law to help her whenever necessary. This move would also put us closer to my parents, my sister and her family and my brother in law and his family as well as many of our closest friends. We sold the home we owned for 12 years and moved back to the area where we grew up. It just so happened that my husband's boss had been promoted and was relocating so we were able to buy his house in a great neighborhood. Thank God for all of those positives because my one hour each way commute is a bear!
I was lucky enough to go to Maine to celebrate my Grandmother's 100th birthday in 2018 and spent time catching up with many cousins and aunts and uncles I rarely see. Since then my Grandma has celebrated two more birthdays and continues to get out of bed each day and play games or do puzzles or crafts to keep her mind sharp (as sharp as a 102 old can be).
I was able to go on my first ever cruise with my best friend as we went back to our youth on the I Love The 90s Ship Hop Cruise. I got to finally visit Mexico on this trip which I was supposed to do on my honeymoon, but our resort was destroyed by a hurricane. My husband and I went on our first trip alone since the kids were born when we went back to Vegas where we actually ended up spending our honeymoon back in 2005 in a last minute decision.
Unwelcome changes: I've lost too many friends to Cancer. My friend Holly was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to her brain and before she could even seek treatment she contracted pneumonia and died 10 days after diagnosis. My friend Jessi was diagnosed with leukemia and within 7 months she was gone. Most recently, I lost my best friend who battled breast cancer for roughly 8 1/2 years.
Professionally: I started the decade as a morning show host on our country station, 101.9 WDEZ with my partner Lee Peek. He resigned in August of 2011 and I worked a few months with my new partner Bryan Scott before going on maternity leave for three months. I worked alongside Bryan as morning show cohost and got promoted to Assistant Brand Manager of WDEZ before going on maternity leave again with the twins in October of 2013. After returning to work I switched shifts and started doing the midday show on WDEZ and continued to do that even after being promoted again to the Brand Manager position at our rock station, Rock 94.7 WOZZ in 2014. I loved every minute of being the Brand Manager of Rock 94.7 and had no intention of leaving that position, but it proved to be a training ground for me and I was promoted to the Brand Manager of 95.5 WIFC in 2017. That was the point when I made the decision to leave WDEZ as a regular part of the weekday team. I was happy to remain on air at Rock 94.7 and eventually get back on air at WDEZ for a weekend shift. Since taking over WIFC I have had to hire two morning show co-hosts and a lot of part time employees. I feel like I'm always hiring. I haven't done a lot of firing though and that makes me happy. I love my job and the company I work for and I sure hope they keep me for a long time to come because I won't be able to afford to retire for quite some time and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life.
With the exception of the heart wrenching losses it was a pretty great decade. How was your decade? What were some of your highlights?
