I posted for 31 days last December using the Reverb10
prompts. While the original creators of those prompts are not doing them this
year, another person has stepped up and I'm going to follow along. I really
enjoyed reflecting on my year last year and hope to have a similar fun
experience this year. Without further ado the first prompt:
What is one word to describe your 2011? Why does that word
sum up your year?
A lot like last year, I'd be willing to bet a lot of these
posts are going to be focused on being a dad because it's probably still the
biggest thing going on in my life right now. My wife is due with our second
child at the end of January so 2012 is going to be similar as well.
One word to describe 2011 for me is discovery. It was a year
of discovery for my entire family, as well as a year of personal discovery for
myself. While this is true every year, it felt especially true this year.
My daughter Abigail entered 2011 as a 8 month old infant,
and is emerging from 2011 as a 20 month old toddler. The difference between
those two points, as I'm sure those of you with children know, is HUGE. She is
in full-on discovery mode right now and that has been fun to watch and
experience.
Watching her discover what makes the world tick, the common
language that we employ, and proper behaviors in the right context has been
really interesting. Her brain is just absorbing and picking up all these new
things, and doing a pretty good job of it. It's amazing how quickly they go
from drooling baby to curious toddler that picks up on more things, understands
conversations, and starts formulating words to express her feelings.
My personal discovery has revolved mostly around my career
and job, and my wife and I have continued to explorer where we want to go with
our lives. There's been a number of events that have occurred with my job and
career that have caused me to pause and re-evaluate what I really want to do in
the long term and that's been filled with discovery on several different
fronts, a process that is ongoing and will continue into 2012.
