A Decade in Review...

2000 - I had moved "home" from Utah back to Wyoming a few months before the new year. I was working days as a para-educationalist in the special education department at one of the local elementary schools working one-on-one with an 8 year old, non potty trained, cleft pallet, downs syndrome boy. And by night I was helping with my mom with Kidd who was only a few months old. She worked nights. I worked days. It worked out well. Yes, the house was full, but teenagers can't be counted on to help when a diaper needs changed. At the end of the school year I started a job working at a real estate office in town as the office manager. I dated a little in town. Nothing serious. There just wasn't anyone who I could consider my intellectual equal. That happens in a one horse town. My younger brother, Ted, joined the Navy and got married. My niece Destiny was born.

2001 - I met Jim while he was working in the area. My life as I knew it then and for years to come changed forever. After a struggle with some of the dealings and transactions with one of the associate agents I decided I would be better off waiting tables then working in that office. I waited tables for what was really the first and hopefully the last time in my life. Towards the end of the year I started working at the law firm. Sure, it meant a 3-4 hour daily commute (depending on traffic and weather) and didn't pay much to start but it paid the rent and I got paid vacation days which meant I could take more time off to be with Jim. It was a win win. My nephew, Tucker was born. Here's a picture of the two of us in August of 2001:


2002-2003 - This time of my life was filled with utter bliss and just general contentment. Some ups and downs. A few rough patches. But mostly just good times. I was promoted to office manager at the law firm. I had my hands full with work. I was responsible to six attorneys. I lived for my vacation days. Every one of them were spent somewhere on the road with Jim. I never knew where the next break would take me and for the first time in my life I didn't care. My niece Kindra was born. My stepbrother, Brandon, got married. My parents opened a discount grocery store and Kidd refused to stop growing. Here he is in his apron riding around on his tricycle helping out at the store:

2004-2005 - Lots of driving still for work. Lots of big projects and fun cases. Never. A. Dull. Moment. Mostly me staying busy and trying to figure out what to do while Jim worked on his own what to dos. It was at this juncture that I had found out that Jim wasn't exactly single. It's also the year that his Grandpa Eddie passed away. I've only seen Jim cry a handful of times. This was one of them. I threw myself into more work and more family. Picking up my brother after I drove down from work so my mom could close the sandwich shop they'd opened. I got burned out at the law firm. I quit at the end of the year. Enough was enough. I had a quarter life crisis (honestly was it any wonder?). I decided to pack up and go to cosmetology school. I drop out before it gets started. I moved back to Wyoming and to up to Jackson. I started working part time for Bossman at the family offices and part time for the Jewish couple in their home. Filling my hours with lots of random jobs. Working from home. Here we are at Ocean's Journey in Denver in 2004. I'm trying to remember the timeline, it's all a blur anymore (because honestly does it really matter?), but I'm fairly certain this was one of the last trips before I figured it out. I was angry and I was hurt. It took awhile, but I understood the why. When you love that deeply you learn to forgive and work on moving on.

2006 - On and off again and on again. It's hard to say goodbye to your best friend. This year was trying. He was leaving. He was staying for the kids. He left. He went back. He left again. I cherished every moment I could spend with him. I was living with a friend from high school. We're no longer friends. I moved out after finding out I'd been paying ALL the utilities not just my half. I rediscover the joy that is living alone again. My stepsister, Tiffany, got married. Jim spent Thanksgiving at home with me. It was the best week of my life. And another life changing event. Here we are on our way back from Oregon:

2007 - After some tough choices for the both of us the year gets off to a roaring start. I leave the Jewish couple and start working full time again for Bossman. My stepdad's parents have moved in with my parents. I spend a lot of time going down to Star Valley to help out. Grandpa Warren passes away from cancer in June. Aunt Maxine passes away within the same time frame. Between family, work, and Jim my life is full. There's only one thing that could make it complete. We start working on it. More and more of Jim's stuff starts to get left behind with each time he stays. My nephew, T.J., is born. My niece, McKenna, is born. Here we are at Leigh Lake in the fall:

2008 - The year that will forever be etched in my memory. I don't even know how to summarize it without crying. Life was coming together. It wasn't easy. We knew it wouldn't be. But we also had each other to lean on. Jim flies down to see the kids on July 10th and never comes home again. My Papa Jim passes away in October. My brother, Ted, and his wife divorce. Here is my Jim two weeks before he was killed, enjoying a cold beer on our deck:


2009 - My life this year revolved around the incidents surrounding Jim's death and life. Someone had to step up and honor his life and memory. Grandma Warren passes away in January. My stepbrother, Shane, got married. My niece, Mia, is born. My stepbrother, Cassidy, gets engaged. Arraignments. Plea bargains. Kites. Plea agreements. Sentencing. Trial. Sentencing. My younger sister, Tosha, got married. This is a collage of the area where Jim took his final breaths, where I went to visit on several occasions throughout the year and found a few tiny tokens:

"We cannot always control our circumstances,
but we can and do choose our response to whatever arises.
Reclaiming the power of choice, we find the courage to live fully in the world."
~ Unknown ~

God only knows what the next ten years will bring...