Looking Back on 2007

Rolling into 2007, I imagined that the year would bring many great things. Sure, in the whole cosmic theater of life, 2007 is probably no different than any other year, but to me I felt it to be "special", whatever that means. Lucky number seven I guess. Rather than set my sights on any specific resolution (since most resolutions fade after a month or so), I set forth with the notion that this year I would make the most of everything. The problem with such a broad focus is that there really is no measure of whether you succeeded or not, especially if you are an overly critical person such as myself. I'm sure I could beat myself up and say "damn, if only I pushed a little harder". But in the end, would it have made for any better of a year? That being said, I think it's more important to focus of what I did accomplish, rather than what more I COULD have accomplished.

The year of 2007 did indeed prove to be a very special year. I think it goes without saying that the highlight of the year was the conception of our little boy. With 3 more months to go, the joy of birth will actually fall in 2008, but so much happens in the "9 months" leading up to that special day. Thanks to such modern technologies as 3d ultrasound, I feel as though I already know the guy. That and he kicks my arm at night when I rest it on Amy's belly as if to try to knock it from atop his very cramped quarters. So, Logan alone has made my year very very special.

So much more has happened, however small they may appear in comparison, that have also made 2007 s great year. For example, I started taking the LARE. Yes, if I had pushed a little harder, I probably could have finished this year, but would I have had the time to do the other many great things I did this summer? The important thing is that I started, and the sections that I DID take, I passed with flying colors.

Right around the time I was testing, and perhaps this is the reason I got distracted, I found a couple of canoes on Craig's List. I had been looking for a deal on Craig's List for some time, so needless to say I was excited to finally have them ("Them" strikes me as funny because I really did not set out to get two, but I'm glad I did). Living in Austin, it is almost essential to own a canoe if you spend as much time outside as I do. Whether fishing with my dad or taking a leisure paddle with Amy, those canoes gave me access to many places I had not yet explored.

All in all I spent more time hunting and fishing this year than I have in a long time. Much of that was valuable time spent with my father. In fact, I spent more quality time with my family in general this year. I think it's the revived sense of family Amy and I have obtained since she got pregnant....yes I said "she". Let's face it, even though we are in this together, I'm not the one who has to shove a baby out of my crotch. She alone will hold that over our son's head when he lacks gratitude...

...Family. Perhaps that is the greatest accomplishment of 2007. Whatever the reason, I've seen my family, and my extended family, grow closer together over these 12 months. Above all else stands the bonds you share with family. So important are those ties, especially when family gets placed on the back burner in modern politics and pop culture. Of course, much of this may stem from the start of my own immediate family, but I think all of us will agree that this has been a good year for growing closer together.

With that being said, I think my New Years Resolution for 2008 is to just be the best father and husband that I can be. Anything that I accomplish beyond that is icing on the cake.