End of the Year Things

The Best and Worst Things of 2010, as decided by me:

Film
My wife and I spend less time at the theaters now due to 1.) Cost and 2.) Babysitter availability, so we research and discuss and plan our next adventure with extreme caution.  Thankfully, due to several trusted websites and reviewers, we avoid many of the most rotten movies, but also miss out of some of the better ones.  The only potential for change lies in "The Best" category, with True Grit and The King's Speech being the final two we'll see this year.

The Worst:
Valentine's Day

The One That Made Me Laugh Enough To Make My Stomach Hurt:
The Other Guys

The Best Surprise:
Unstoppable

The Best:
Inception

Books
The One I Started Twice But Found I Wasn't In The Mood For:
The Grapes of Wrath
-I know, I know.  Classic.  I'm a terrible person.  It'll get read in 2011.

The Best Short Story:
The Whisperer in Darkness
-The first thing I've read in quite some time that kept me from sleeping well.  Seriously.

The Best:
Watership Down
-I am so thankful to have read this.  Absolute perfection.

Other
Worst Day:
The adventure of temporary daycare.  The boys had spent several days with their new daycare provider and seemed to be enjoying themselves.  They took walks, played with gentle dogs and cats and turtles, were eating and sleeping well, and felt safe.

So, we get to The Day.  It was a Wednesday, if memory serves.  Everything about that Wednesday was rather forgettable in its normalcy.  Conversation, breakfast routines, music, whatever...all as it should be.  Yet, when we arrived at the house and walked to the door, there was a definite change in everyone's posture.  We were...tense.

My youngest, Jack, began shrieking the moment he left my arms, and the oldest, Joe, seemed resolute with his Brave Face.  We squeezed one another tightly there in the doorway, and he moved off towards the toys, stopping with every other step to turn and wave goodbye and say 'I love you.'  I heard the sudden panic crack in his voice and as he turned one final time, everything fell away and he ran back to me, sobbing and pleading.

I stayed a few minutes to calm and reassure, but that was an awful several minutes.  I will say, though, the woman who cared for them was a marvel.  Compassionate and friendly, she genuinely cared for them both and kept them safe and loved.  Thank you, Stacy.

Best Achievement:
Running the half-marathon.  Holy crap, did that hurt.

Jack's Best New Word:
"Co-co."  Short for "cookie."

Biggest Cry About Anything:
The finale of Lost.  I talked about it here, so I'll not repeat.  I was a mess.

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Please have a memorable, merry Christmas full of smiles, love, good food and drink, and magic.  Thank you to any of you who happened to read some of the words I've put down this year...I greatly appreciate it.

Some Catching Up

There have been numerous forces prohibiting me from updating this quiet little space for some time, and for that I apologize.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas preparation, work schedules going a bit wonky, a new story developing steadily, and reading like a maniac, I consistently lost track both of time and The Great Things I'd planned to write about.

But, no matter.  I'm sure the two or three of you reading this weren't that heartbroken.

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Albeit a month ago, it seems I was quite right about the path upon which Mr. McDaniels was treading.  I imagine once the season is over we'll hear about a new 'organizational structure' with a true GM and another Executive in Charge of Player Development kind of thing, followed by a few years of mediocrity.  I'm sure it will take quite some time to untie the mess that Mr. McDaniels knotted, redefine everything about the Broncos, and start winning again.

Good grief.

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The new story is about a courier.  He delivers troubling things for a company (about which he knows very little) to troubling places inhabited by shadowed, troubling individuals.  But, he gets a regular paycheck, free room and board, and doesn't let it trouble his sleep.  Until it does.

No news on the other strange stories that are being passed to and fro out there somewhere...hopefully someone enjoys one of them enough to pass it along.

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As mentioned, I went through a reading frenzy for about three weeks, and finished three books.  The Left Hand of Darkness, Old Man's War, and The Hobbit (for the fourth time) were all enjoyed thoroughly moved to their new place amongst the "finished" pile.  The "unread" pile is finally getting thin, with the exception of two enormously fat volumes that consistently dare me to pick them up.  But I'm saving those for some other day when I'm brave.

On a somewhat related note, in the next few weeks, I'll probably include some of my Best Things from 2010 here.  Anyway, off to the roof I go.  These Christmas lights aren't going to put themselves up...