365

Actually, it's been more than 365 days, as today is the 372nd day, and yesterday was the 365th (official) post. But it has been a whole year of posting daily, which was why I started this blog. It changed, very close to the beginning, as I decided that using the word list was too limiting. In fact, it looks like it changed on January 1st.


I chose, early on, to limit the tags so that I could more easily find things in the blog that were related to each other. The tags I've used over twenty times have been: Childhood; community; dance; eyecatching; faith; family; food; food bank; friends or friendship; identity; memory (the most tags, at 62); work; and writing. "Eyecatching" is shorthand for posts that are most often photos only, "identity" marks those that are about sexuality, and "memory" is for the short stories of my life.


The ones I like best are marked "memory" but there are a few other stand-outs for me.


As I've been reading other people's blogs I've been noticing that those who have big readerships have taken time to thank their readers either this week or around Thanksgiving, and to review the year of keeping a blog. Thanks to everyone who's reading this. The "year in review" is above.


Writing about what I learned this year seems a lot like that essay we were all asked to write in school every fall. The last few days I've been thinking about the things I already believed, and how my experiences this year reinforce those beliefs.

I believe in kindness, and this will be its own post in the format they're using on NPR. I've been thinking about writing this post for months, but it seems so overwhelming to write it that I have continued to put it off. I work in a place that makes it easy to be kind, but in a way working there makes the extra gesture seem even more kind. I love observing a volunteer catch a client's saying their child has a birthday and then giving the client a box of cake mix.

I believe that if you don't tell people your dreams, they can't help you make them come true. It seems like there are a lot of people out there who will help, especially if it's easy for them, and we don't know what's easy for them. I've been on both sides of this this year, particularly as regards the food bank.

I believe it is okay to change your mind. I even did that with this blog, early on - though I did not change my mind about keeping it. I know setting up this daily-writing resolution as a blog was the way to keep me on it.


2007 was a much better year than 2006 was. Life is good.

12/31/2006

Did I mention I love my husband?