Remembering 2009

Tomorrow, I head back to work after taking three weeks off when Logan was born. I'm feeling that the new year has finally begun for me.

To mark this occasion I wanted to reflect back on the year that has just ended. 2009 will be a year I will never forget. Tons of our friends had babies in 2009! Welcome to the world, little Ian, Dev, Ben, Anya, and more. In particular, I'm very happy to know that my son Logan will grow up having a friend named Dev...

Here are the most memorable events for me that happened in 2009:

#5: Buying a new place; the market was good, so Yang and I bought an investment property and tried our luck at being landlords. It's been a learning experience to say the least, but I'm glad we did it.

#4: Trip to Costa Rica. After trying for a long while to have a baby, we decided to take a break and go on vacation. We did a GAP tour around all of Costa Rica. We met some interesting people, ate some yummy food, and had some fun adventures including canyoneering, rappelling, ziplining, and horseback riding. It was a great trip. That was March, 2009. Nine months later, we had Logan!

#3: Yang being pregnant for most of the year meant eating uber-healthy foods, maternity wear for work and special occasions (Lily & Richard's wedding, Jenny and & Edmund's wedding, Xmas parties, etc.), road trips instead of flying for vacations to Quebec City and New York City (thanks Narmatha and congrats Ilora and Mohsin), reading lots and becoming experts on babies and strollers and vaccine schedules, etc., and taking lots of pictures of a truly unique time in our lives.

#2: Our friend Dev drowned in Algonquin Park on Sunday, August 16th, 2009. He was a friend from work, a traveler from India who had been in Canada for almost four years. We saw him last on the Friday before he was to head back to India; we hugged and said goodbye. I remember thinking at the time that I honestly didn't know if I'd ever see him again. But I was happy for him in that he was finally heading home to be with his family and live his life back home; his sister was due with a new baby in just two weeks. He spontaneously did the trip up to Algonquin over that weekend and tragically drowned while there. I remember finding out on Monday the 17th and having to tell Yang about it. That's a day I'll never forget.

#1: The birth of our son Logan. Monday, August 17th was also the day we found out that we're having a boy. Four months later, on Wednesday, December 16th, he was finally born. Life changed forever for us that day. Welcoming Logan to the world was probably the happiest day of my life.

2009 had such highs and one deep low. It's a year I will never forget. That said, I'm very much looking forward to a fun and fulfilling 2010.

-rajib