The last week of the year is one of my favorites. I always get a renewed sense of energy as the opportunity and hope of a new year arrives on the horizon. I spent the past week enjoying the joy of Christmas and wrapping up some long overdue projects.

By every measure, 2019 was a success. I am a completely different man that I was on January 1, 2019 and I’m better for it. I wrote a full post over on Catholic Husband reviewing my year.

Among the many changes that I made was going all-in on my personal blog as the home to my digital identity. I quit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in 2018, but it was this year that I really focused on building out my website. I went through a few iterations of design, settling on today’s format. I experimented with CSS, tinkered with typography, and balanced splashes of orange and white space.

More important than the design is how I’ve come to use my blog. It’s a collection of my daily thoughts and interactions. There are podcasts, pictures, article links with comments, and random updates. For those that follow along, especially my family, it’s the best way to know what I’m thinking about and doing. This blog is a reflection of the happenings in my mind.

As it turns out, my blog has also become the platform on which I host my art, namely, my daily haiku. A simple three verse poem each day, highlighting my day. Going daily since August 20, 2018, it’s now a collection of 500 poems about my life.

The decade now comes to a close. It was one full of life, change, joy and sorrow. I’m ready for the next one, and I’m ready to document it all, right here.

On the ramp at Cape May Airport, December 23, 2009.