But only the ‘looking back’ part. Predicting the best of my year to come seems like it would involve using too many neurons. Besides that, what if my ‘bests’ turn out to be ‘worsts’ or ‘mediocres?’ Totally not on.
So, my ‘top 10 of 2010’. No particular order here, so don’t get too excited about the distance between number one and number 10!
1. Decluttering the house. This was a new year’s resolution that Kate and I made last new years (resolutions, another human foible). To a fair degree it was successful. There were some hard choices in there, but ultimately it was rewarded. I thinned out my closet, for example, in a big way. I’m not really fussy about my wardrobe, Evidence for and against: I had a number of items that I kept for ten years or longer, and now that they’re gone, I’m not sure how they stuck along for so long. Items even older than that, too. A ‘San Francisco’ t-shirt from a family vacation… from when I was EIGHT. Buh-bye. A denim-y button down shirt that I used to wear with a tie… on game days in GRADE NINE… and the list goes on. Needless to say, I’ve weeded out some very outdated items and my clothes rack is lighter and happier for it.
2. Heidi. While her arrival was terrifying and fast-paced and surprising, one of the largest rewards of 2010 has been to watch that little four and a half pound sack of sugar turn into the 21 pound happy-talkative-solid-food-eating-sitting-up-on-her-own-lil’ person that she is today. While her age is still ‘adjusted’ based on her prematurity, she is a wonder of development to behold. 
3. Vacation time. This is a no brainer, I suppose. Kate and the kids and I got 17 days off in a row (this includes weekends of course) to be together and go visit various and sundry grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a solid 14 months between vacations, and a whole lot happened in between times (see #.2) to make this break seem a great relief.
4. Olympic fever. Holy man. What an exhausting amazing unforgettable unrepeatable experience the 2010 Winter Olympic Games were. So Exciting to be immersed in the media centre as a media relations staffer, and so much fun to be able to experience some of the venues and watch competition and take in a number of the free events.
By months’ end, I could’ve napped for weeks. Alas,
5. New job. The day after my last shift at the media centre, I fell into a new position as communications officer for the provincial public guardian and trustee. The timing was ‘fiscal year end’ which meant being parachuted into a frenzy of last minute project work that brought me back up to speed on layout and design tools that I hadn’t used in a while, and as a whole through the year, this position has exposed me to projects and processes that are either new to me, or are things I haven’t done other than in a classroom setting, so it’s been an amazing experience to be able to add and polish the tools into my skill set.
6. Five years of marriage. Closing out 2010, Kate and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. The difference in our lives in a mere half-decade is almost immeasurable, what with kids and a house and a dog and jobs etc. etc., but it’s pretty cool that the ring on my finger and the love between us has been constant all the way through.
7. Teaching my two-year-old to parrot funny sayings. I’ll keep this one brief, but let’s face it: my son doesn’t look much like me. May as well train him to act like me.
8. Kari’s wedding. A highlight of the year was the late summer party held in Kamloops to celebrate my sister’s 'nups. It was a tonne of fun to have so much family together and to see my sister get hitched to a great guy. Don’t screw it up, Matt ;) we didn't take a camera with me and at the time of making this list, the only photo from that wedding on or computer... is of me MC'ing the reception. chalk it up to shameless self promotion? 
9. Health. On the one hand, I have been plagued since the Olympics with a knee injury that has kept me away from doing most of the athletic things I love: volleyball, biking and running have all been off limits since I tore some cartilage. I await surgery. That being said, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to get to the gym regularly and I feel like I’m in pretty good shape these days as a result. Here’s to continued health in 2011!
10. All the things I forgot to mention. In reality, there are more blessings that pour into a year than I can actually count. I’m a lucky guy and that doesn’t seem to change from year to year.
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