It’s time to end my self imposed holiday hiatus from blogging and end the chapter that is 2010. How do I wrap up an entire year and file it with other memories?

I witnessed several actual and metaphorical trainwrecks this year. Some were slow motion nightmares and others came from nowhere. Mistakes were made and lessons were learned. It will happen again and again.

In all my years of coalitions and committees, this year was the first time I experienced someone working AGAINST the group’s goals by colluding with a troll to make threats against others. I felt naive for allowing it to happen, but I don’t want to let it change my desire to trust, believe and hope.

I spent a lot of this year with family members in hospitals. It’s always a slap in the face that forces you to reconsider what is important. There’s also a kick in the pants to recognize what isn’t important.

This is the first year I can remember when families grew smaller faster than they grew larger. Marriages, births and adoptions were outnumbered by people lost to sickness, sadness and injury. There have been times when the air was so heavy with the suffering of those around me that I felt we might all suffocate. We didn’t.

I have read over and over again today of people kicking 2010 to the curb. “Good riddance.” “Won’t miss you.” “2011 will be better.” I can’t do that. The good, bad and ugly of 2010 is a part of me now. It gave me unwanted wrinkles, scars and weight. It also gave me clarity, strength and calm. I laughed out loud more this year than last year. I memorized moments. I sat still. I listened better. I lived more. I made memories. Thank you 2010.

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Cross posted 2010 Summary Tweets:
Education – Raising standardized scores by practice testing instead of teaching independent thought and creativity.
Politics – If I point out your racist comments, you call me a liberal.
Old media – We can steal from you, but you can’t steal from us.
Social Media – The year everyone declared themselves gurus while confusing fb with twitter.