50 for 50: 2011

YEAR: 2011

AGE: Turned 41 on Nov. 6

LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Ave.

CUBS' RECORD: 71-91

SONGS I LIKED: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele; "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys; "Walk" by Foo Fighters; "Saints of Los Angeles" by Motley Crue; "1983" by Neon Trees

MOVIES I SAW: "Kung Fu Panda 2"; "Cars 2"; "Tron: Legacy"

TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "Modern Family"; "Off the Map"; "Terra Nova"; "The League"

CONCERTS I EXPERIENCED: Michael Franti; Psychedelic Furs; Earth, Wind & Fire

In my last post, I described my bewilderment at how fast time has seemingly been the last decade, starting in 2010. Today's installment doesn't cover the fleeting nature of time, but rather, how one segment of time can exemplify the concept of awesome.

That sounds like a bloated statement, but I don't know how else to explain 2011. Every year as a parent has been great. Although personally, some years have been better than others, even the ones that were struggles I wouldn't replace because they were still years with the boys -- and those years are finite.

However, if somebody offered me to choose one year to relive, I would pick 2011.

From a work standpoint, I hit a perfect balance of well-paying freelancing and a hours at the newspaper. Each weekday was busy, but I never felt overwhelmed. I was co-oping at Ben's preschool and Michael's first-grade that spring, then both kids at the same school in the fall once Ben started kindergarten.

I remember spring feeling just wonderful and fall being busy. The winter started badly with both our cats dying within three weeks of each other, but two weeks later, we introduced Maggie to our family. That summer, we adopted Popcorn -- and the first few months with a puppy are always frantically fun.

Summer outside of vacation was amazing (I'll get to how incredible vacation was in a moment). I went on a waterslide into a deep pool that scared the heck out of me. The boys played soccer, went to various weeklong day camps, played baseball, swam, enjoyed the waterpark, and hung out with friends. We socialized with other families and gawked at fireworks on the Fourth of July. I ran my third Wasatch Back.

A spring trip to St. George was fun, but perhaps nothing topped our vacation to the Midwest that summer. This was all we did:

• Took the boys to their first Cubs game
• Went to museums and planetariums
• Spent three days at a waterpark resort in Wisconsin Dells
• Spent a couple days in the north woods
• Saw Earth, Wind and Fire in concert in Milwaukee
• Went to Millennium Park

We've enjoyed many fantastic vacations since, but I don't think one quite compares to the nonstop action of this one. Then, after returning to Salt Lake City, we got a dog ...

I didn't realize how great 2011 was until years later, and I didn't find out until later that work was stressing Lori on more than she let on. The confluence of awesome fell apart a little bit as the year ended -- my steady freelancing gig dried up, Ben's kindergarten class fell into a little bit of chaos after his teacher went on maternity leave, and the adventures of every day turned into routines -- and would pretty much remain routines.

I wrote this post in June 2011, asking Ben what was the best part of his day, to which he replied, "Everything!" That perfectly sums up 2011. The boys were at ages that were old enough to be active and engaging but still wildly innocent and cute. The year seemed to be the payoff for parenting.

Don't misunderstand me -- I've loved all the years with Lori and the boys since, as well as all the years before. But in the afterlife, if I'm given an option to pick a year to relive for eternity, I'm selecting 2011. I want to see a ballgame at Wrigley again. I want whoosh down a waterslide into a cold pool on a hot day. I want to drive with the windows down and the radio up in the spring. I want to watch the boys play soccer on a perfect fall Saturday. And I want to remember and celebrate my family exactly as they were during this year.