UPDATED: Now with Pictures

It’s the wee hours of 2006 and I thought this would be a good time to reflect just a little on where I’ve come in a year. A lot has happened.

This time last year Mindy and I still weren’t sure where we would be in the fall. She had only applied to Vanderbilt and was still waiting to hear back before applications for other schools where due. Mid-January she received her letter of acceptance, and shortly there after we got word of the financial aid we would receive, and our decisions was made. We were going to Nashville.
As soon as I knew Nashville would be our home for the next couple years I started looking for friends. First I told my long time friends from Madison, Chip and Kristen, that we would soon be neighbors. I then connected with one of my most helpful resources and Nashville confidants, Justis on RelevantMagazine.com’s Message Board. From there it was on to searching for a church, or at least information about church. I had an very interesting encounter with one church while on the phone. The second church I connected with, through a phone call and their online message board, was the one we would settle into when we got to Nashville. LeslieMe was an amazing help in preparing for our move down.

Meanwhile, Mindy and I enjoyed our last semester at Wheaton. We’d had a wonderful first semester of our senior year. I finished my IDS project and was set for a relaxing spring semester. Mindy had just finished a grueling semester of multiple labs and tough classes. The spring semester was full of interesting classes, teachers, and assignments. I had a wonderful time in Advanced Developmental Psychology, discussing everything from sexism to racism, coming of age and racism. In Contextualization I had the great opportunity to put together a Tithing project to encourage the 400+ graduating seniors at Wheaton to make a commitment to tithe 10% of their income once they started “real” life after graduating. I audited Sociology of the Family with Dr. McMinn, mostly because she is awesome and I had to at least one more class to take with her. I was still playing basketball on Saturday’s with the boys at Cook County. I helped Keane do a project about Roosevelt Road. Basically, we drove down about twenty miles of Roosevelt from Wheaton to Lake Michigan, interviewing people in the neighborhood every two miles and taking pictures as well.

Saturday mornings for the last few feeks of school were spent talking with friends about what it means to be good stewards of our money and lives after graduation. The idea came from some good conversations during out amazing spring break trip to Florida. Some of the last Sundays we started having potluck’s with friends which was a absolute highlight of the year. Springtime found us losing the championship IM soccer game, but taking home a wonderful First place in IM Water Polo.

Graduating was nothing too exciting, but it was an absolute joy to have my parents and Mindy’s folks all come down for the occassion. We chilled at the apartment for a week or two longer and then it was out of Wheaton forever. Speaking of the apartment, second semester was our first time sharing our living space. Zach lived in the second bedroom of our two bedroom apartment during second semester. It was great to enjoy some community, and realize it really isn’t uncomfortable at all to share a bathroom, kitchen and living room.

We spent a tiny bit of summer with family and attending our friends, Joel and Mel’s wedding. Right after that we took the 10 hour drive down to Nashville, our new home. We crashed at Kris and Chip’s for a week while we looked for an apartment and a job. We quickly found our apartment just four short blocks from Godchaux hall where Mindy would be attending nursing school.

I had high hopes that I would get a job at the Oasis Center, just blocks from our new apartment. That and a couple other close jobs didn’t work out until I scored the Life Skills Specialist position at Monroe Harding.

Before we entered full time life in Nashville we took a little vacation. Mindy headed further south for some quality girl time with Megan and Nana. I headed to New York with Keane for some good ol’ brother bonding. The vacationing ended with a weekend in Wheaton with friends for Chris and Rebecca’s Wedding. Then it was back to Nashville for life to begin (all be it with a broken down car).

During our first weeks back we bought a new car (okay, new to us). We were renting out our second bedroom. We were hanging with folks from Mosaic. Life in Nashville was off to a good start.

My job was and has been very exciting. Some of the highlights have been Life Skills Jepordy, making a movie with the Parenting class, model cars, flag football, PG-13 players skits, and going to a High Rope Course. Still in the works are a book project, a rap workshop, web design, typing, and video classes, basketball, and maybe some sports tournaments. Mindy’s first semester included both difficult classes and very exciting clinicals. She’s made some good friendships and learned a lot of important things.
Some of the year end highlights included Mindy kicking some major butt on her finals, spending Christmas in Minnesota (and a lot more for Mindy), and some quality time with new friends.

A bit longer then you might have been looking for, but that’s the year for ya.