year in review

Joe and I are what might charitably described as "overcautious," and since we moved to Atlanta (where you have to get in a car in order to go pretty much anywhere), we don't go out on New Year's Eve because we figure there's probably a higher than average density of drunk drivers on the road ready to orphan our children. (The less charitable term for this approach would be "pessimistic misanthropic mole people," yes.) So we're staying at home tonight for a night of home-grilled steaks and MarioKart Wii, is my point.

Speaking of MarioKart Wii, before the start of the game, there's a white screen with the caveat that "Interactions In This Game Are Not Rated by the ESRB."


MICHELLE
What's the ESRB? Probably the Entertainment...Standards...Review Board?

JOE
I think it stands for End Stage Renal...Bisease.


(You know when you start reaching that point in your medical indoctrination that you start seeing acronyms in everything? Like suddenly you start seeing words and phrases in otherwise random jumbles of letters on license plates, and you have some seemingly very playable words in Scrabble that are by strict definition not actually legal? That's why Joe and I started allowing "Medical Scrabble" a couple of years ago, though we revoked this priveledge once we realized that every string of letters, no matter how random, is some acronym in some branch of medicine, and therefore the whole challenge element of Scrabble is ruined.)

We just spent most of last week in Virginia with Joe's family, which (if you aren't following me on Twitter) can largely be summed up in a series of pictures:







(Rough translation of the above: we flew from ATL to Dulles in order to watch "Cars" with our cousins on Aunt Sue's TV, which is nicer than the one we have at home! Also, intergenerational family and love and stuff! CHRISTMAS!)

Don't worry, I'm not going to do an actual "Year in Review" post, because I do think that treads the line between boring and inviting people to kind of roll their eyes at you, because no one wants to hear your blow-by-blow of the year when you already keep a blog, for chrissake. But I will say one thing, and I know it's sappy, but I just can't stop myself.

These are the precious years, the milestone years, and I know it. The years we're going to look back on decades from now. Cal is five and-a-half, and Mack is turning two next week. Joe and I are still young enough in our fields that every day is still challenging and exciting. We're still having new adventures, and we're enjoying them together. I know that things won't always be this way. I mean, not that every year from now until I...stop counting years...won't present new surprises and events, but there is something special about being young(ish) (thirty-two is still kind of young, isn't it? Just nod and say yes) and having small children that frames things in a kind of time-lapse photography that I imagine cannot be replicated once your kids are older or you're older or life is generally more stable. Everything just seems faster and fresher and bigger and more now, and next year, just like this year, I just want to be able to enjoy every single minute of it.

I hope 2010 was as good to you as it was to us, and that 2011 is even better. See you there.