On New Year's Eve, we McAlpines sit together and recap that year's events. This is easy because I have a spiral-bound work calendar and (almost) every day I compulsively write two or three sentences to say what was going on in our lives. I have kept this diary-like record for at least ten years but Dec 31 2007 (a year ago) was the first time I did the end-of-year recap with the family. Now we have done it twice, and I think that qualifies it as a tradition.
Here is a summary of our 2008:
January - We find a buyer for our house (the one we are living in), rather unexpectedly, and agree to get a number of things fixed and sell by June 1. Basement wall fixing/waterproofing, electrical repairs and kitchen/bath finish work ensue. I finalize plans to retire from DJJ on April 1. Lee Ann buys a new horse, Ruler, in Springfield, which brings her total to three horses.
February - My retirement is announced, but a few days later a bigger announcement - my company is acquired by Nucor Steel and rapid expansion looms. I agree to stay on until May. Meanwhile, our potential house buyers announce they must take possession by April 15. We accelerate house fixing and begin to move furniture and belongings to the Tower House. Lee Ann began working a grueling full-time job as barn manager at her horse barn and Annie gears up for her first lacrosse season at Lebanon. Boy are we busy.
March - After our house buyers twist our arm for faster closing and possession and other concessions, and half our stuff is moved, the deal falls through - we are more relieved than anything. My replacement at DJJ, Terry, is announced and we begin crosstraining. Ruler comes up lame and the vet says he needs four months stall rest (this eventually stretches to eight).
April - Annie's Lacrosse season begins. Her team will go on to have a good first season with a winning record, and with Annie playing almost every minute in goal. I am traveling frequently to Kansas City to support DJJ's large expansion there. My replacement assumes his duties, but there is so much to do that I arrange to continue on as a part-timer for the near future - so my retirement is off. (This was very lucky as things turned out, and now I am glad to be working and not drawing down my much-diminished 401K funds for living expenses.) Annie turns 16 - funny, it seems like she just got here.
May - Annie passes her driver's test and gets her license! A few days later she and I drive to Andrews School near Cleveland, where she attended half of ninth grade, for a weekend visit. For us that's a pretty big adventure. Annie finishes off 10th grade.
June - My DJJ schedule reduces to 80%, or four days a week. I am working on plumbing at the Tower House, the basement entry and cover at the Lebanon house and wiring at Lee Ann's barn. Annie has had a job at The Tack Trunk since the fall, but now adds a second job at Whit's Frozen Custard. They love her there, of course. Lee Ann sells her horse Chocolate, which leaves her with two. Lee Ann and I celebrate 17 years of wedded bliss.
July - Annie takes two summer vacation trips, lucky kid - first to Phoenix to visit her"aunt" Jana, then to New York City for a perfectly touristy week with brother Brian and family. Lee Ann and I have a b& b weekend to ourselves in historic Harrodsburg, KY.
August - I am working on Tower House floor repairs and stripping woodwork. Lee Ann's barn job ends, but it was very hard work and she needs a break anyway. My DJJ schedule reduces to 60%, or three day weeks - a very comfortable pace! Lee Ann drives to Michigan to visit her friend Nancy W. for a weekend, and in her absence I tear off our back porch at the Lebanon house and begin rebuilding it. Annie gets her ears pierced - an event I have dreaded since she was born. (I still can hardly look at her earlobes!)
September - Lee Ann begins a new job - at the Tack Trunk. She loves the work there. I pick away at the back porch rebuild all month. Annie starts in on 11th grade. Her schedule with two jobs and a very demanding honors curriculum is grueling. The scrap industry is faltering noticeably, which is bad news for DJJ.
October - DJJ acquisitions cease due to the economic crash, but I am still busy doing safety training on my part-time schedule. One day, on a whim, I bake cream puffs. Someone breaks into the tower house and steals my generators - bummer. I finish major work on the back porch project, finally. I get a call from Georgetown - the building inspector there wants the dilapidated frame addition in back of the pharmacy building we own there torn off, so I begin demolition. Lee Ann is riding Ruler again, gingerly.
November - We finish the Georgetown teardown. I do porch finish work in Lebanon. Lee Ann and I put up a fence and gate across the front of the Tower House property, to hopefully deter thievery. At Annie's suggestion, we volunteer to help tear down an unwanted house at Highlands Nature Sanctuary, which turns into a pretty fun day. Mom visits for Thanksgiving week. We have a good time with her, and with Brian and Lorrie when they spend a day here.
December - DJJ lays off 10% of Cincinnati staff. I am not among them, but in using up accumulated vacation time I am off work for most of the month. Annie takes the SAT and ACT exams for college entrance (she is just 20 months away from college!). I begin working on the Tower House kitchen, prepping the floor for new tile. We have a happy pre-Christmas visit to Brian's in Jackson, and a nice quiet Christmas day at home. I buy a 2008 Chevy Colorado - our truck for the future.
