In 2012 I have...

• survived my second (thankfully milder than the first) Boston winter.
• admitted that, to survive my third such winter, a light box and Vitamin D pills will be helpful tools.
• read nearly 300 books – a personal record. (Yes, I am fast. No, I don’t “speed read.” Yes, I spend a LOT of time reading.)
• lost a grandmother and a cousin, and grieved.
• flown to Texas three times to visit my family.
• become an aunt twice over, to Ryder and then to Annalynn.
• taken J to D.C., shown him the monuments and museums I love, and discovered some new places there with him.
• spent two wonderful long weekends (one frigid, one fall-ish) in New York City.
• drunk SO many cups of tea.
• taken countless lunchtime walks.
• filled up six and a half journals.
• overslept a LOT of mornings.
• had my soul fed, my heart uplifted and my intellect challenged at the Glen Workshop.
• gained about 10 pounds. (Which I’d like to lose in 2013.)
• attended my 10th high school reunion, and marveled at the ways my classmates and I have grown into ourselves since 2002.
• kept up a pen-and-paper correspondence with the lovely Jaclyn (who also hosted us in D.C.).
• driven to the wilds of Maine for a super-fun wedding.
• kept showing up for my day job, even when I did not feel like it.
• continued to work as a freelance for my beloved alma mater.
• taken on extra responsibilities at church.
• realized why church work is sometimes thankless and sometimes deeply rewarding.
• missed my family, and faraway friends, deeply.
• welcomed my sweet college roomie and her husband for a visit to Boston.
• paid down a LARGE percentage of the balance on my student loans.
• written 170-ish blog posts (and hit the milestone of 1,000 posts).
• tweeted probably more than was strictly necessary. (But it’s so much fun.)
• joined a networking group for bookish folks.
• celebrated my third Turkeypalooza.
• knitted 6 hats (4 adult, 2 baby), 4 baby sweaters, 2 pairs of booties, 2 cowls, 3 mini sweaters, 1 pair of leg warmers, 1 sunglasses case, 2 pairs of fingerless gloves, and 42 wee hats for smoothie bottles.
• fallen head over heels for Lark Rise to Candleford, finished watching Mary Tyler Moore, and continued my love affair with Castle.
• reviewed more than 40 books for Shelf Awareness.
• met a dozen or more online friends in person.
• become part of a book club.
• visited Vermont, Newport (R.I.) and western MA.
• found a question I keep asking over and over.
• celebrated my fourth wedding anniversary.
• relished a rain-soaked, hilarious, memorable 4th of July.
• soaked up all I could of the London Olympics.
• reflected on two years in Boston.
• struggled at times to make this life fit.
• talked about the future with J.
• fallen in love with a slew of new-to-me detectives, including Mary Russell, Tommy & Tuppence, Sarah Kelling, Chet and Bernie, Bess Crawford, and the Spellmans. (This has been a year for mysteries.)
• seen both The Lion King and The Fantasticks on Broadway.
• spent many Tuesday evenings sipping tea with girlfriends.
• wondered what is next.

I wrote a post like this last year, and it was so thought-provoking I decided to do it again. It’s amazing to look back over a year and see what’s happened, and what I have made happen.

What have you done, experienced, read, accomplished in 2012?