The Twenty-Teens were a decade of both calm regularity (Hey! No poop jokes!) and emotional whiplash. Lots of folks look back on what happened in their lives at the end of the decade and I’ll hop on the bandwagon myself. Hyperlinks are available if I’ve blogged about it. And if you’re wondering: Yes, I’m humble-bragging about some of the good accomplishments!

Now that we’re back in the Roaring 20s, I need to start calling dudes “old sport.”

2010:
-Bought my first house.
My parent’s dog, Belle, (my “childhood dog”) passed away at seventeen.

2011:
I met my wife at Maxwell Alexander Drake’s writing workshop.
-I climbed Bridge Mountain (one of the tallest mountains and more dangerous hikes in Red Rock Canyon, NV) in a 14-hour hike.

2012:
-Attended my ten-year high-school reunion.

2013:
-Proposed to my wife.
-She became hospitalized on the verge of death three days later with a type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

2014:
-I married my wife.
I got the honor of interviewing retired Colonel Joe Kittinger (the man to parachute jump from “the edge of space” at 103,000 ft.).

2015:
-Bought a Honda Civic!

2016:
-I attended the ten-year anniversary party at my job.
-Wifey totaled my eleven-year-old Silverado (not her fault; some punk kid was playing chicken with her on a bike).
-Bought a Ford Fiesta!
-Attended Leviosa 2016 (a combined Harry Potter fan con and YA writer’s conference).
-Attended Chuck Sambuchino’s Writing Workshop.
Broke my right great toe three days before Christmas.
-After surgery, I met an old friend from middle school I lost touch with who worked as the x-ray tech in the surgery center.  
-Visited several historic sites: OK Corral, the AZ Meteor Crater, The Trinity Site (location of the first atomic bomb blast), NASA Houston (and got to sit in Apollo Mission Control), Longhorn Caves.

2017:
-Brought home the first two dogs to live in my house: Leo and Lena!
-Obtained my second college degree: An Associate’s in Criminal Justice.

2018:
-My parent’s dog, Charisma, passes away at seventeen.

2019:
Leo passes away at age six from an unknown illness.
-We adopt another dog, Nero.
-We traded the Honda Civic in for a second Fiesta (Don’t laugh! They get great gas mileage and this is the last year they’re making them!
Attended Greater Los Angeles Writer’s Conference.
Celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.