2009 is almost over now - A look back across the decade milestones of my life

Here in the Austin area, there are 220 minutes left until 2010 begins.  I realize that there's already been a lot of talk about this next fact, but I still find it amazing that ten years have passed since the Y2K scare.  My wife was a computer programmer at the time, so she was utterly unconcerned about any problems.  At any rate, the past decade seems to have sped by, possibly because I was a parent for the entire time.

I was thinking back about some of the prior decade New Year's Eves that I have experienced, and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to see which songs and shows were popular back in the old days, so to speak.  

On New Year's Eve 1979, just before the 80's began, I was nine years old.  The most popular TV show that year was...."60 Minutes".  Needless to say, I wasn't a fan.  I was, however, a big fan of "Three's Company", which garnered the #2 spot.  My wife and I are the same age, so our cultural references are virtually identical.  We have a long-standing joke about that show - "Hey, do you remember the episode of 'Three's Company' that revolved around a sexual misunderstanding?"  Along the same lines, "Hey, remember that time on Gilligan's Island when they were on the verge of being rescued and Gilligan messed it up?"  Both shows were pretty much one-trick ponies, yet I am sure I've seen every episode multiple times.  

In 1989, I was a sophomore in college, at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.  I was too busy partying with my friends to watch much TV that year, but one of the most popular songs was "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown.  I wouldn't exactly consider myself to be a big Bobby Brown fan, but I do recall dancing to that one at a number of fraternity and sorority parties, as well as enjoying the video on MTV.  Yes, MTV used to show videos pretty much all the time, before the shift to reality television.  I recently noticed that both MTV and MTV2 show almost nothing but reality shows.  The best that I can tell, most of the videos from artists are now viewed on YouTube.

In 1999, I was still a new dad.  My son had just turned one year old, and we were thankful to have survived what felt like a rough year.  He had three surgeries that first year of his life, all unrelated and correctable items, thankfully.  Pop culture wasn't as much a part of my consciousness by then, but we did manage to see one of the top movies of the year, "Sixth Sense".  I recall that my mom wanted to see it, but someone at her office let the cat out of the bag with regard to the huge spoiler for that movie.  Uncool.  We also saw "Toy Story", and we just about wore out the VHS version of that one with my son later.

This year, I am a father of four, on the verge of my 17th wedding anniversary with my beautiful, supportive wife (it's Saturday), and I'm blessed beyond belief.  My kids are loving and healthy, I have a nice home, and two working and paid-for vehicles.  I run a company with 16 terrific agents, and things are looking up with the economy, it seems.  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I guess I just wanted to take a few minutes to look back and to wish you and your family a safe, happy, and healthy 2010.  I hope it brings unprecedented success for you.  Let me know if I can ever do anything to help you.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonivc/2283676770/