Earlier this morning I mailed off my passport for renewal as I was approaching the ten year mark of September 29 2013.

Ten years. 

Looking back over those ten years I have realized just how much has happened between September 2003 and September 2013. 

I have lost four people I loved dearly, their bodies lowered into their final resting place or their ashes set free into the wild. 

All four of my childhood pups are gone: first Lewi, then Rex, then Miles, and finally Buddy as is Jackpot, the family cat. 

Jobs that were left and a career that was discovered when I took a giant leap of faith. A city that was left in haste, a house purchased that most days is home and some days a prison. 

A heart that broke that day in March,  and is still unwilling to let go and let love in again. 

Friends that were discovered and others I walked away from.  

More concerts and plane rides and miles in the car then I know what to do with. Hundreds of books that have been read. Hours of internet searching that yielded nothing. 

Weddings and babies and divorces and remarriages. 

The most important moment came just three days ago when my nephew was born. 

Ten years. 

LIke I have the past few years, I will spend New Years Eve at home reflecting on life, which means I will most likely watch movies, drink wine, and be merry. I like and enjoy spending my NYE this way, away from the chaos of the evening. 

I had no idea what 2012 had in store when the year began, and looking back it’s been  amazing and overwhelming. 

• With the help and encouragement of many people I love, especially my friend Angela who was by side at the finish line, I completed my first 1/2 marathon, an amazing feeling.  Sadly something about finishing it sent me into a really dark period that I am only now getting out of. 
• Met, and was able to thank, a favorite musician of mine. 
• Was with my friend, Crystal, as she experienced the beauty that is the Gorge for the first time. 
• I went back to the only place that felt like home, Seattle, for the first time since 2007, and returned again a few months later. 
• I saw numerous concerts, as usual.  DMB, Mumford and Sons, Ray Lamontagne, each better then the other. 
• Spent many nights away from home, working in California. 
• Drove the pacific coast highway from San Fran to LA and back. 
• I watched as two friends lost their battles with cancer.  Like many people I knew,  they were taken too soon. 

So many moments most I can barely recall, nevertheless I am ready for joys and sorrows of 2013

Way back in 2002 I was a member of the now defunct Nancies.org, which at the time a Dave Matthews Band message board, go on, it’s okay to laugh.  It was on this board that I came across like minded people, and as a result we all decided to meet up at the Gorge for DMB’s Labor Day Weekend shows that year. 

To this day, it is one of my favorite memories and those people I met that weekend are some of my dearest friends.  From births of children to the death of a dear friend, I am seen it all with them.  

Between 2002 and 2012 I have been back a handful of times for DMB and other shows, Pearl Jam in 2006 was an equally amazing experience  this year marked the tenth anniversary of that weekend.  While very few people were able to make it back, I arranged things at work and life so that I could. 

I have seen DMB 100 times, and as I often tell me at this point its less about the music and more about the people and memories that are conjured when I hear an opening note of a favorite song. 

Anyways, even if you hate DMB you must see a show at the Gorge it’s an entirely different experience then any other venue, though Red Rocks is an experience in itself as well.  Over Labor Day Weekend by friend, Crystal,  and I drove out from Seattle for the DMB weekend. 

Crystal and Me

view from theWild Horses Monument on the drive to the Gorge

View from the top of the lawn.

Closer view