I write these posts each year to both document a handful of things that happened, but also as a bit of catharsis. Writing it down brings a bit of finality to it, in a “yeah, that happened” kind of way. The past year has been one of transition. I left a job for a new one. We switched to a daycare closer to home. I watched a child’s vocabulary explode along with her range of emotions and motor skills. I have tried to grow a little myself. Through it all, the end of the year finds us healthy and happy.

• Went to my first outdoor NHL game, attended a handful of indoor games as well.
• Marked five years with Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
• Caught COVID-19 after dodging it for a few years.
• Visited four of my six SigEp chapters for events and meetings as District Governor.
• Appointed to the Chapter Finance and Corporate Compliance Committee for SigEp.
• Flew to Dallas for a District Governors training session, my first non-airport visit to that city in nearly thirty years. Returned to taking more regular trips to grocery and department stores, typically wearing a mask.
• Walked the dog most nights, aiming for 30 minutes or a mile if he would tolerate it.
• Started a long hiatus away from writing semiweekly news recaps Nashvillest.
• Enjoyed cooler weather nights in a hammock with a toddler who loves said hammock.
• Celebrated a two year-old’s birthday with cupcakes, an inflatable pool and a balance bike.
• Left VUMC and took several weeks between jobs before starting at FloQast, Inc in a similar role.
• Spent most of that month learning how to use a more recent version of React.js.
• Went to our first Tomato Art Festival since the start of the pandemic.
• Took our daughter to meet our college newspaper adviser on her visit to Martin, Tennessee.
• Met up occasionally with friends at bars and restaurants.
• Voted in the midterm elections, including for a candidate for which I signed his nominating petition.
• Stopped playing Among Us and Mario Kart as much, switched to chess and Texas Hold’em, along with Kerbal Space Program when at my computer.
• Took our daughter on her first bus ride while she called out “purple bus” every time she saw one from then on.
• Went to four swim class sessions with a toddler who wanted to play with the plastic ducks more than participate.
• Began taking an antidepressant for the first time.
• Started using a CPAP machine at night and not liking it very much.
• Went to the holiday lights at Cheekwood for the second year in a row, along with the drive-thru lights in Lebanon.
• Earned AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and AWS Certified Developer – Associate certifications.
• Left Twitter in favor of a personal Mastodon instance as my primary social media platform.
• Rang in the new year with friends on a Zoom at our home in East Nashville.