Wow! If I had to sum up 2009 in one word, that is the closest I could come to it. It was another year of extreme growth, amazing opportunities, and adventures galore. Life in general is just better when you have someone to share it with. I am so glad I have been blessed with that someone.
My biggest memory from the year is July 5th. I told her I had something in the car I had to get for her. So there she stood, waiting on the cliffs, looking out at the sunset over the ocean. At that point she knew it was coming, but it was still a surprise. I showed her the photos I had made for her and pulled the ring out of my pocket. She said yes before I made it down on my knee. It was magical. It will never be forgotten. Love is ... wonderful. Wedding planning is rolling right along and the date is set for May 15th in her parents front yard in Virginia.
She waited for me a number of other times throughout the year, often times longer than she wanted. There are two that stand out in my mind though. One time, I was actually early. The other, I was right on time. The first was July 19 at Vineman 70.3, my first Half-Ironman triathlon. For those that need the memory kick start, that is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. I surprised her and my mom on the bike course by arriving at our meeting place earlier than expected. I surprised them again when I crossed the finish line in 5 hours and 9 minutes. All of us were blown away. I held back some tears. I was so proud. My on time arrival came on November 14th at the Richmond Marathon. I started struggling around the 22-23 mile mark and really had to push myself through that to hold it together. I crossed the line in 3:10:25 and met my goal of qualifying for the the most prestigious marathon in the world, the Boston Marathon. There was one other goal met in my little world of racing, and once again, she was waiting. I ran a 10K (6.2 mile) race on Thanksgiving Day in 39:31, placing 5th in my age group. However, she was not waiting at the finish line this time. She was at home waiting for me to return and for the turkey to come out of the oven. In 2010 she will be waiting for me again, but this time it will be for a full Ironman. Let's see if I can come in under 12 hours.
In 2009, Carrie and I were blessed with our first house together! I moved in on November 1 and she will move in after the wedding. It is in Rancho Bernardo, a community 24 miles north of downtown. There are lots of mountains, a lot less traffic, the best school districts in the county (I am not saying we will be needing them anytime soon but it is best to be prepared), and as a bonus, I am less than one mile from the studio. It is a completely remodeled, two-story, corner unit condo that faces the ocean. Well, it faces west, towards the ocean, but we are about 8 miles away. One of the first items on the list for 2010 will be new windows. They have been ordered, we are just waiting on the installation.
At Canyon View Church of Christ, our church, we have been introduced to many more people there and are feeling much more at home. We love the small church vibe and have grown attached to some fantastic people. Our new preacher is incredible, Sunday school classes from Rick are always challenging, and the church is growing! Praise the Lord! One of my goals for 2010 is to get more involved with the youth and possibly in the audio department.
Studio West and TRAC had another banner year in the midst of a failing economy. We hit many milestones along the way including the installation of our Digidesign D-Control in the newly opened Studio B. I had the opportunity to work with a lot of artists this year. Some of those artists will make it on my demo page, others will just sit as files on a hard drive buried deep in my office. Hey, everyone cannot be a pop star on their own, right?
I became the proud uncle of another nephew just in December though not on the Keiter side but on the Winters side. My soon to be brother-in-law and his wife had their first baby boy Graham. He is a cute little fella. It will be exciting to watch him grow up over the years. I am so blessed to have the relationship that I do with my future in-laws. They have welcomed me into their family as one of their own with no hesitation what-so-ever. I love that I now have two families that are full of amazing people.
So, those are some of the most stand out memories from this year. There were so many, it was hard to choose which ones to write about. I am looking forward to a great 2010. I am still working on my goals for the year, but in general, they go something like this (in no particular order):
- Train my soul like I train my body
- Pay off my car early
- Marry the woman of my dreams and be the best husband I can be
- Continue to improve my swimming, biking, and running
- Take more photos
- Flickr more photos
- Make some money with said photos
- Love more
- Live more
- Laugh more
- Give more
I hope your 2009 was wonderful as well. Here's to an even better 2010!
Blessings.
