2018 rewind
2017 was a big year. I met my wife Charlene and stepson AJ - who, by the way, is the most adorable little boy and I think of as though he were my own flesh and blood. I rediscovered drumming and my guitar. I eloped! Charlene and I broke the news to our parents, and somehow lived to tell the tale. Though long distance, our marriage blossomed through daily FaceTime calls and frequent visits to one another. The Raleigh Expos won the CNCMSBL championship, with me as the MVP. I quit my first “adult” job in my career. I decided to move back to the northeast from North Carolina. A lot of major life changes packed into just one trip around the sun.
2018 took things to a whole new level. It started with a 700-mile road trip, U-Haul in tow, to get me moved up to Mass. A few weeks later, I began a new role at work as a project manager. The same day I started the new job, Charlene told me we were pregnant. We celebrated AJ’s 2nd birthday with a construction themed party at our house that Charlene planned and executed to perfection. We conquered a custody dispute with her ex. We survived four trips to the emergency room for AJ, including a 2am ambulance ride and two PICU stays. We learned he has a rare condition that causes his airway to become obstructed, making it difficult for him to breath, and endured five operations to correct the issue. We will be managing his illness indefinitely. We repainted, refloored, and refinished eight rooms in our 200-year-old historical home. We took dozens of day and weekend trips - to Boston, to Maine beaches and mountains, to visit my family in New York. We hosted over 50 friends and family to celebrate our marriage - albeit one year later - and our baby girl on the way. The Lunenburg Phillies won the CNEBA championship, and AJ circled the bases during the celebration. We started family traditions, attempting to blend Christian prayer and churchgoing with my Jewish heritage - Passover and Hanukkah, in particular. Maybe we’ll introduce Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur next. After 42 weeks of waiting, we welcomed our daughter, Eleanor Rose, to the world on November 1. We fell in love with her instantly, and AJ has been the proudest big brother you can imagine ever since. We set up our first family Christmas tree and taught AJ the true meaning of the holiday - the birth of Jesus - but also some of the fun traditions we both remembered from childhood, like leaving cookies and a letter for Santa, and carrots and apples for the reindeer. We established so many good habits - and yes, also a few bad ones - for our family this year. The Ginsbergs got bigger by one, and a lot stronger in 2018, and are diving straight into 2019 with clear eyes and full hearts.
-DWL
