My decade in review
Am I the only one who feels like the last decade has flown by? It feels appropriate to mark the end of the most amazing decade of my life with some highlights from each year. This a summary of a summary. It goes without saying that my favorite parts of each year were the moments I shared with my family and friends. God has truly shown up for me in every moment, and I can’t wait to see what the next decade holds.
2009 - I became a US citizen, visited Burundi (my country of origin) for the very first time, and met the amazing human being I get to call my Husband. I also visited Kenya and lived in Egypt for part of this year, which was such a great experience in many ways. I traveled to Russia to visit my now-Husband, and he proposed during my visit.
Fun on the NYC Subway
2010 - After completing my MA coursework the year before, I applied for a UN internship to pass time. I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but I was accepted to spend six months interning at UNOCHA in NYC. So, I went from living in Cairo - one of the oldest civilizations - to living in New York City - the city that never sleeps. During my internship, I traveled back to Russia to visit a very important guy. I later joined AmeriCorps VISTA in upstate New York. 2010 was also the year my then fiancé moved to the US from Russia. Great times!
2011 - I became a married woman, got my first real job, moved to paradise on earth (Woodlawn Bed & Breakfast), learned how to drive, and bought a car for the first time. I also experienced pregnancy for the first time - something that I am yet to figure out how to put into words. This is the year Husband and I went back to Burundi together for the first time.
2012 - We lived in the beautiful Southern Maryland, where we had our first child. This was also the time I almost went mute, but that’s a story for another time. We moved back to Baltimore on faith with no job and a two month old. God knew what he was doing when He created family and friends. Two months after the move, I got a job in refugee resettlement and worked to help brilliant minds - engineers, accountants, teachers, nurses, doctors - to rejoin their professions here in the US. Our travel this year included road trips to Vermont and Ohio.
Carl’s first birthday
2013 - After a move to our first apartment in the Baltimore area, I became the Executive Director of a small organization providing shelter to homeless families with children. Husband liked to tease me because I was my own version of a 25 year old CEO. This was the most challenging job I have ever done, but I had an amazing team of staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors. Some of the advocacy work my colleagues and I did back then is bearing fruits for homeless families now. On the fun side, Husband and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas.
2014 - Husband and I took a road trip vacation to Georgia with our almost two year old. During that weekend, we learned that my MA thesis was accepted. Marriage, babies, and life had caused a delay, but I finished strong. I am no quitter. 😆 Later that year, we all traveled to Switzerland to meet my father-in-law. Husband had only seen his Papa via video chat until this time. It was such a blessing to witness this moment, especially with our own child.
2015 - After years of his hard work, I celebrated my Husband’s college graduation. We also had our second baby and learned to be new parents again after three years. Unlike the first time, sleep deprivation did not last. Our new baby was sleeping through the night at seven weeks. Neither of us could believe it because the first one didn’t sleep more than three hours until he was six months. This was a pretty calm year travel-wise. We only did a road trip to North Carolina.
Nathan the Baby
2016 - We said bye bye to apartment living, bought a house and found out we were having baby #3. Late this year, I said my bittersweet goodbye to my work at the shelter and started working for UNOCHA at home. This is the year I realized how much change Husband and I had been through since meeting only 7 years earlier. Thank God for resilience!
2017 - We had our girl child whose name had been waiting for almost six years. When my Husband first held her and told me we had a girl, my first words were “So, Naima is finally here?” Accompanied by tears of course. This was a chill year, getting acclimated to homeownership and parenting three babies. After two years in private Montessori, our firstborn started Kindergarten. More tears. We spent some time in Chicago during this year.
2018 - I started a new job in resettlement once again, this time not working directly with clients. In keeping with our family tradition of travel, we took the babies on a tour of Canada. We drove from Baltimore to Montreal - to Ottawa - to Toronto. We also took them to Buffalo for some cousin time before driving back home. We already knew that our babies were born for adventure, but this trip sealed it for us. Having children changes a few things, but being able to travel is definitely not one of them. After this trip, our second-born started Montessori and quickly became super independent.
The K5 hanging out in Montreal
2019 - The year that’s closing this decade has been as great as the one that opened it. We are more comfortable in our role as parents of three. We have started putting systems in place to facilitate our journey towards freedom in all aspects of our lives. This was our best year as far as travel is concerned. We took our children to see Burundi - something that I didn’t get to do until I was 23 years old. While we were there, we showed them where we met, visited relatives where our parents were born, and introduced them to some important people in our lives. They had a great time. On a professional level, I am ending this decade with yet another job change.
2020 will start a new decade, during which I am sure our family will change in many ways. The one thing I know for sure is that we will continue to love one another and cherish every moment we get to share. Cheers to ten well-spent years! 🥂
