A jam packed year has come to an end. 2015 was a bittersweet year for me. I didn’t write as much as I would have liked, but there were competing interests at home. Along with homeschooling three kids, this year brought a new baby into my life, and with her came a lot of joy and a lot of… tiredness. But in a good way. One of the posts that did see the light of the internet this year was about how an unexpected pregnancy brought my wife and me through a difficult time. That was the sweet portion of the year.
The bitter portion of the year was losing a professional mentor and a friend of the whole dad blogging community. Oren Miller accomplished something amazing during his life (besides being a great father and husband) and that was bringing dad writers together. Because of his passion, dad bloggers share with one another daily a wide variety of tips and stories, and provide a sounding board. To say I owe a lot to Oren would be a huge understatement, and many men could say the same thing.
Even though I did not write as much as I would have liked this year, I was able to write about important issues facing our society: tackling gun violence and talking to kids about our violent world. But they weren’t all depressing; some of my posts reflected my hope for this world. After I wrote about my son’s friendship with his best friend, a friendship across Christian-Muslim religious lines, I was encouraged by the touching stories readers shared online. And after attending the State of the World’s Fathers report at the UN Building, I had a deeper appreciation for those on the front lines of Fatherhood and felt inspired to preach the good news of what fathers are doing.
As in past years, I had the opportunity to interview some celebrities. My favorite, by far, was the entire Women’s National Soccer Team, before they went on win the World Cup. And then shortly after the World Cup win, I was able to take my daughter to watch a Sky Blue FC game, where she interviewed one of the team’s players. Watching my daughter talk to a pro-soccer player was one of the highlights of the year for me. And a close second was witnessing her playing catch with an MLB baseball player.
Here are some of my other favorite blog posts from the heart in 2015:
Holding Hands with My 10 Year old Son
5 Things That Have Helped Me Become a Better Parent
I also got the opportunity to travel quite a bit in 2015. Here are some of my favorite travel posts:
A Family Ski Trip to Mont Tremblant
Visiting Naples, Florida with Kids
Tips for Universal Studios Florida
Exploring the Newseum in Washington D.C
I also had 2 stories in the book Dads Behaving Dadly, was interviewed on a Life of Dad Podcast, and appeared in a clip for HLN tv.
So that was my year in review post for 2015. I have some big plans for 2016 that I am looking forward to sharing over the next couple of months, including an additional blog and a hiking adventure in England with a group of dad bloggers. We are walking to raise awareness and donations for Camp Kesem. See you in 2016!
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