2010

The year 2010 was a really hard year (that may be the understatement of the year). But it's undeniable that 2010 was a really good year, too. This year was full of challenges - but also full of so many truly great things. 2010 was just...full.

It is clear to see how my family was shifted, molded, challenged and changed. How we've been blessed and guided - and rescued more than a few times. Looking back, it is impossible to see 2010 as anything less than miraculous for me and my family.

But for me, alone? On a personal level, 2010 has brought me to my knees. It has broken my heart. Contrited my spirit. Ground me a little beneath the heel. Pushed my head beneath the waves - and even though each time I've managed to resurface and gulp that sweet air of survival, at the end of things I do still feel a bit like a drowned mouse.

And now, here on the cusp of a defined new beginning - where I can look down at my calendar and see a very clear line where the last square of 2010 ends and the first square of the next year begins - I look back on my travels - personal and otherwise - of 2010 with a feeling of reverence.

2010 - you did not beat me. Each time you shoved me down and pressed your knee into my back, I grew a little stronger. So thank you for the fight, because I needed to find the fight again in me. I needed to push back my sleeves, wipe the blood from my cheek with the back of my hand, and get SCRAPPY.

So here's to you, 2010. Thanks for the fat lip and the black eye. I really needed it.

And here's to you, 2011. Because, friend, you are going to be a full year, too.