Last week while I was jokingly poking fun at resolutions, I was actually deep in my annual reflect on last year until I can’t see straight mode.

I might not be on the resolution bandwagon, but I do love to take a long, lingering look back. I’ve always been a sucker for a good annual countdown. I love spending the final days of December watching the best music videos of the year on VH1. Okay, that was like fifteen years ago, but you get the point.

I like to take a look back before I look forward.

As far as years go, 2014 was a good one for me. I accomplished a lot of things I set out to do. I started a company, wrote a book, had my work featured on other web sites. But even with all of that, I still haven’t gotten there yet.

Of course, everyone knows there isn’t really a there, right? Because as soon as you get there, you’ll want to go there. Tricky, tricky, this life.

But just for fun let’s take a look back to 2014. The year that Jackson topped the list of most popular boy names. The year ebola and ice buckets reached heights never before imagined. Let’s take a look.

a look back

You never quite know what you’re going to get when you show up at my blog. But as I reread every post from last year, it became clear that there is a faint but continuous thread tying it all together. With every post, I want to make you laugh, give you some insight, and maybe, just maybe, help you feel a little less alone. It is in laughter and sharing common experiences that we are able to forge real connections. That is the gap that I’m trying to span with my words and my stories.

Here are a handful of posts from 2014 that I think capture what I’m about:

three things you should know about introverts – Because more than one person has told me how this book changed their life.

do you work outside the home? – Because parents deserve more than this tired question.

what if the cabin loses air pressure? – Because sometimes your spouse ruins everything and then you think the plane is going to crash.

22 things grown ups know – Because common sense seems to be creeping toward endangered.

you have no idea – Because judging people by their choices is a giant waste of time.

a look forward

What’s next for this blog of mine? Bear with me as I add some new features, make some updates and announcements, and set the stage for the year ahead. It might take me a few weeks to get me head screwed on straight.

If you’re a newish reader, I’m going to do a few flashback posts so you can learn a little more about me, my story and why I write what I write.

Along the way I might ask you to share my site with someone that might like it or help me get the word out about my upcoming book. But it will be cool, because by then you’ll know what I’m all about.

Let’s make a deal: I’ll keep writing real, funny stories. You keep showing up and reading…

And in a year we can look back together and say, That was a blast.