Looking Back at 2012

one of my favorite photos of us in 2012

In addition to 2008, 2012 was a year that changed my life immensely. 

Honestly, 2010 and 2011 kind of ran together, but 2012 surprised me with how much could happen in one year. And it all happened in well-defined, very different quarters.

1st Quarter - this was the quarter of the move. As soon as January 2012 came, Spencer and I started apartment-hunting. We found one by the end of the month, moved at the end of February, and had mostly gotten situated by the end of March. And in case you forgot, moving neighborhoods rocked our world, in a good way.

2nd Quarter - this was the quarter of my widowhood. This quarter brought us Spencer's last round of law school finals (which you think he would slack off just a bit. false.), his graduation, and then! dun-dun-dun! The BAR EXAM! Ugh, I try not to recall that period and the amount of television I watched (Downton Abbey, Friday Night Lights, Doctor Who, etc.), and I'm pretty sure Spencer tries not to recall studying every waking moment. We spent so much time apart that I forgot what he looked like. (I kid, but seriously, almost happened.) Obviously, this was not the most fun of quarters.

3rd Quarter - oh, but this one was! This was the quarter of joy and merriment! From August through October, Spencer was a house-husband who cleaned and ran errands and would spend time with me once I got off of work. And the trips we took! Maine! Central America! California! Chicago (me)! Utah (Spencer)! We were always jetting off and living Spencer's break to fullest...at least as much as my limited vacation time would allow. I can't remember a time in the past few years that was more fun, and this quarter more than made up for the hell that was the 2nd quarter.

4th Quarter - this was the quarter of the job. This was a weeeeird one. We went from law school and one income to two jobs? Two incomes? What is this thing called "savings" that we could now do each month???? It's a new and bizarre experience. However, with those so-called paychecks came pretty intense strings-attached as Spencer worked post-9 pm every day and even pulled all-nighters and all-weekenders. Yikes. But honestly, it's no worse than law school/bar prep, so we were nothing if not prepared.

And here we are - 2013. 

It's only been one day, but so far, so good. 

I ran my first race of the year, 5k, with my fastest pacing in months, and we both enjoyed a relaxing day off of work. As for goals, I don't think I will make goals like I did last year. (See the recaps here, which fell off post-vacations. whoops.) I'm keeping with the running (doing a half in March and a ragnar relay in May), I'm doing a juice cleanse starting tomorrow as my eating habits unfortunately need a swift kick in the rear, but most importantly, I am a much more positive person at January 2013 than what I was at January 2012. Spencer even noticed and commented on the difference. I mostly accomplished my goals last year, and now I want to do something different. 

This year will focus more on moving forward. Options about various things are open to me which never have been before. Vague yeah, but that's what my future is right now, vague. I'm not really sure what 2013 will bring, but dang, I'm excited to find out.