A Personal Review

After Thursday's post, I got to thinking about my own year.

And you know what?

2016 wasn't awful. It was a little weird at times, but overall my personal year went ... fairly well.

To help me illustrate this point, I've pulled a few pictures from the archives and a few new ones off my phone.

There was the Run for the Rangers in ... March? Seriously, guys, when was this?


I mostly remember absurdly good weather and making pretty okay time, considering it was a run/walk and I fell solidly on the "walk" side of things.





I'm still baffled that that was ever a thing.

Later in April, I got to attend my sister-in-law's graduate recital. She's really talented, guys.


And in May there was the Great Bike Chase, which included things like the incredibly picturesque Shenandoah Valley.


Some quality hammock time.



And some distillery tours.



A story I'm not sure I've shared here:

Our tour guide at Jack Daniel's gave the best advice I've heard about whiskey: "Do you like it with ginger ale? Then drink it with ginger ale. On the rocks? Drink it on the rocks. Don't like it at all? Don't drink it. The only wrong way to drink it is to dump it out."

Sound advice.



Oh, and my dad turned sixty this year. I got him his own hand-dipped bottle of Maker's Mark on that trip.


That was fun.

There were a lot of hikes, too. My dozen Black Elk hikes, of course, but also the Volksmarch with family, some outings with my mother's hiking crew, and a few hikes to show off the Hills to a newbie.




And Christmas in the middle of the state.


There were graduations and moves, ends and beginnings, new houses and babies, friends, drives, late-night talks, painful goodbyes, and a stack of new jobs.

Including one for me, which is still hard to believe.

In other words, it's been a year. 366 days of madcap that are now coming to a close, only to open to what will likely be another 365 of madcap. That's life and entropy, after all -- a vast tendency toward chaos that's most clear in hindsight.

Just gotta hold on and enjoy the ride.

Happy New Year, all, and here's to the next big thing.


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