Firsts. I’ve always been a fan of first days on the calendar – The first day of the week, of the month, of the year. There’s power in using a “first” to renew a commitment, refresh a perspective, and resolve to do – and be – more.
2018 brought big firsts for us. We anticipate 2019 bringing lots of room for a refresh. Actually, we know it will. Because we’re packing up and moving — again!
What 2019 Will Bring
I’ll get to our year-in-review in a minute, but I know you are all here to figure out where we are moving to this time. Because I absolutely hate having to scroll to the end of an article for what I want (I’m looking at you, recipe bloggers), we’ll start with the good stuff and then you can read all the 2018 old news after.
A New Home
Our family has lived quite the nomadic life – 6 cities and 5 states! Now hold on to your butts, because this next move is a doozie. Drumroll, please…
American Fork, Utah.
I know, I know. We imagined living in Ireland or Scotland or Amsterdam or Germany by now, but going back to where our family started will be good. I will be able to totally geek out over family history, go on motorcycle rides with my grampa, and get back into skiing.
Not only are we relocating to familiar surroundings, but also to a built-in support system of friends and family. Allison and I both have a lot of extended family in Utah, as well as a lot of friends from school and the old days.
A New Gig
I’ve accepted an offer to work for a very exciting and fast-growing digital marketing company. This is what I’ll be a part of:
“We make a full funnel of social videos designed for driving conversions at scale, we run them as ads on Facebook and YouTube.” – Chamber.Media
They make great videos (such as Kobe vs. Messi and the world’s largest treadmill dance) and my specific role will be largely conversion rate optimization and UX. In English, I’ll be helping to make sure that the web pages that are launched with the videos are designed to make it easy for users to do what they are there to do. I also got a wink-wink that my beautiful visage may grace an ad or two – so get my autograph now, while it’s cheap.
2018 – A Quick Look Back
The most appropriate adjective for the Devuyst Family’s 2018 would have to be eventful. Here are the 5 most impactful moments of 2018.
Macky Boi
Our boy Mac joined our family in June. He is awesome. He loves his sister, his mom, and “fun dad.” He’s a
Small Baby is Potty Trained
Audrey is not only peeping on the potty, but is also, as it turns out, a total genius. She has a sharp memory, guilting me for doing things that made her sad weeks ago, such as when I threw her stuffed animal across the room in frustration. She develops great nicknames, like “Motorcycle Grampa” for her great-grampa who has visited us twice on his motorcycle. She’s also taken to calling me “James” when she is mad at me. She’s about to be an official threenager, and I’m so, like, not even ready for it.
Emma Burton
We went up to Canada to see my youngest sister, Emma, get married this summer to a cool dude named Denny Burton. I’m convinced that they will make it big-time as a duo-act of singer-songwriters. He and Emma are a fantastic match and I’m excited to have yet another brother-in-law who is cooler than me. If he and Emma don’t make it big, then you all better get your credit cards ready so you can buy the album
A First Loss
For Allison, 2018 brought the first loss of a Grandparent. Grampa East suffered a stroke last winter and passed as a result of related complications. Allison and her family have many fond memories of him in his younger days, and I knew him has a caring and welcoming man with plenty of energy for hugs. We attended his military funeral, as he used to be “in the service,” as he would say. It was beautiful and it was a precious and tender time spent with family.
The Hallow’s Eve Massacre
Getting laid off is an internally conflicting – maybe almost violent – experience. You get off a phone call that mentions something about a new business process that unfortunately doesn’t necessitate your role and you are assured that, “it’s not you, it’s me,” but you can’t help but feel like a failure. The two conflicting voices in your head fight it out day after day after day:
Me: “You’re a freaking moron. If you were a decent human being, they wouldn’t have fired you.”
Me to Me: “But I didn’t get fired. There’s nothing wrong with me, they are just moving on from my skill set.”
Me: “No. Don’t you get it? You’re unemployed now. You’re washed up. You aren’t needed. You messed up.”
Me to Me: “Stop it. My worth as a human being isn’t tied to a job.”
Me: “Yes. It is. Just go look on LinkedIn for a minute.”
Me to Me: “Social media is fake. It’s marketing.”
Me: “This guy’s new house doesn’t look fake. That guy’s family vacation doesn’t look fake. This guy’s presents to his wife and kids don’t look fake. That guy’s Tesla doesn’t look fake.”
Me to Me: “Those people are just at a different stage in life than me.”
Me: “You can keep telling yourself that. But they are all younger than you. You’ll be 30 in a few months. Also, bonus, they are all employed right now. Some of them are Doctors, Lawyers, business owners, published authors. Look – an elected MLA is your age. How many weeks have you been providing for your family with those lousy unemployment checks?”
Me to Me: “…”
And so it goes.
I don’t know if this is unique to me in a situation like this. I hope it isn’t. But it is hard and can wreck things.
I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunities I have had. I’ve had amazing mentors, teachers, coworkers, family, friends, and employers. They’ve helped network me to potential job opportunities and have written excellent letters of recommendation. A lot of people aren’t so lucky. And, again luckier than many, I’m going into a new year with fresh opportunities ahead of me.
Here’s to 2019. May we all find the strength to make it through the difficult challenges ahead, the peace to enjoy the good times to come, and the empathy to be good to each other (also on the wish list: a better healthcare system for the good people of America).
— JD
P.S. – Photo kudos to my sister, Hannah.
Hello, my name is James.
I'm an Experience Chaser, Peanut-Gallery Philosopher, Serial Wantrepreneur, Devoted Daydreamer, Passionate Flavor Enthusiast, Amateur Family Historian, and Casual Photo & Film Hobbyist.
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