Some highlights from 2012

After dinner tonight, I told Dave that I was thinking about blogging but didn't know what to write.  Without a moment's hesitation, he said, "Your highlights from 2012, of course."

Of course!  We just celebrated New Years.  Although I'm not super-keen on late-into-the-night parties (early bedtime, please!), I am super-keen on reflection, and if you ask me, nothing calls for reflection quite like the experience of taking down an old, scribbled-on-every-page calendar and putting up a new, empty one in its place.

So, it's been about an hour since Dave's timely suggestion.  The dishes are done, a shower's been taken, the pj's have been put on, my laptop is open, and I'm ready to go.

Some highlights from 2012.  By Brittney Salverda.

Friday night pizza.   Since Dave and I have been married, we have regularly and frequently enjoyed pizza for dinner.  But this year a routine became firmly established:  we make and eat pizza every single Friday night.  Dave is the master-chef and does all the mixing, kneading, rolling, chopping, topping, spreading, sprinkling, and baking involved.  I mostly grate the cheese.  With all of the seriousness and intensity that I can muster, I declare to you that it's delicious every time.   My love of Friday night pizza is not just about tastiness, though.  It's the whole experience.  The house is quiet, the baby's asleep.  We take our plates into the living room.  We rest our feet up on the coffee table.  We put on a movie.  We sip beer.  It's a routine I've come to cherish and count on.

Bacon, mushroom, spinach.  Yummy!

 Games night.  Last year, Dave and I played on a church softball team.  Each week, after the game, we'd go with the team for a drink.  This year that wasn't going to work.  Since I felt like I was still recovering from birth when the season began, Dave signed on to play by himself.  As much as I would have still loved to go with the team for a drink after the games, a baby - no matter how cute he is - is not a welcomed presence at the local pub.  So, the softball-and-a-drink routine of 2011 was replaced with the games-night-at-Dave-and-Brittney's-house routine in 2012.  Six friends join us (each of whom I love dearly), and we typically play Bohnanza (which is absolutely the best game ever).  If the most accurate way to describe Friday night pizza is restful, the most accurate way to describe games night is playful.  I wasn't really into games before this started up, but now I could almost say that game-playing is a hobby.  I'm really, really into them. I've experienced the joy that comes from letting your guard down, amping your competitive side up, and doing something just for fun.... and I'm never going back.

July 2012, Dinner with the Games Night crew

 Breastfeeding.   Yes, yes.  Believe it or not, breastfeeding makes the list of highlights.  Shortly after Joseph was born, I would have laughed my head off (and then promptly cried my eyes out) if you told me that it would make the list.  Back in the beginning there was blood.  There was pain.  There was hopelessness.  But a lot can change in 10 months and a lot did.  I love the one-on-one time with Joseph.  It feels special.  It feels like an experience for just the two of us.  I also love the quiet.  It has taught me how to enjoy silence, it has developed my capacity for patience, and it has slowed me down.  Several months ago on at church, I needed to feed Joseph during a worship service - and it was a communion Sunday.  The timing was such that I ended up participating in communion while breastfeeding, and it's hard to articulate how beautiful that was for me.  I was fed, Joseph was fed.  I was nourished, he was nourished.  It was a poignant metaphor of the closeness and tenderness with which God nurtures us.  And it was a powerful reminder of the influence I have been given as a parent over Joseph's faith development.

April 2012, Sooke Potholes Provincial Park

Maternity leave.  For most of 2012, I had the privilege of being at home with Joseph... and getting paid for it.  Here's my advice for my American friends and family members considering starting a family:  move to Canada and get a job first.  It will be so worth it!

Childbirth.  All this talk about breastfeeding and maternity leave leads me to mention an obvious hightlight:  giving birth.  It's funny:  I clearly remember breathlessly and tearfully telling my midwife after it was all over that I would - not - ever and could - not - ever go through anything like that again.  But a few months later, my memories took a rosy turn, and I find myself telling pregnant friends, "Oh it's so doable", "Oh it's manageable", "Oh it's such a wonderful experience."  It's not like I'm lying.  It's just that I see things differently now.  In a way, it was wonderful.  It was something I had always wanted to do, and in 2012 I got to do it.  And I count that as 100% gift.

March 16, 2012

Getting to know Joseph.  I love him to bits.  Enough said.     

December 2012, Willow's Beach

Anna Karenina.  I don't think I have ever enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed Anna Karenina.  Don't get me wrong, it took me a long, long time to read.  But - for most of the book - Tolstoy had me star-struck.  He's so good!  I laughed, I cried, I gasped in horror, I shouted for joy.  Nearly every page was both challenging and rewarding.   (I'm 116 pages into War and Peace, by the way.   We'll see if that makes it on the highlight list for next year!)   

June 2012, Cafe Fantastico

 The Galloping Goose. The Galloping Goose has been a highlight of our entire time in Victoria, but - mostly because of being on mat. leave - I'm calling it a highlight for 2012.  I've walked it nearly everyday.  It takes me to coffee shops when I want a coffee.  It takes me to Bible study when I want the Word.  It takes me to my friend Michelle's house when I want company.  It takes me to Swan Lake when I want some peace and quiet.  And it takes me anywhere I want to go when I just want some fresh air.

May 2012, Galloping Goose Regional Trail

The Christmas Carol.  In mid-December, Dave took me to see a production of The Christmas Carol.  We get out by ourselves occasionally, but this was extra-special.  It was a surprise that he arranged for me, and I don't think that has happened in the history of our relationship.  In the grand scheme of the entire year, it's a small thing.  But it comes to mind as a really special evening.  The play was phenomenal, and I felt very, very loved.

The list could go on and on but I think I'll leave it at that.  After all, I need to save some time for reflecting on what's to come too.