It’s almost over. An exhausting, challenging, wide-ranging year that felt like it was trying to kill me with all kinds of great things coming at me constantly.

A year that saw me become the chief technology office of my college, that saw me take our weekend photojournalism workshop on the road, that saw me take over, temporarily, as executive director of an association I hold dear, that saw me head to Brazil with students to cover the Paralympics, that saw my return to rally competition and commit to building a new road rally program here in Georgia. A year that saw me adopt a daughter and then send her off to college, a year that saw my step-son dual-enroll at our state’s flagship university and watch both of them flourish.

A year that reinforced my belief that surrounding yourself with good people is just critical, a year that reminded me how good I have it in that area.

It was also a year that scared the hell out of me. Blooms in December are not normal, so much of what’s happening around us isn’t normal. Remember those 1980’s bumper stickers that asked, “Why Be Normal?”

Now I have an answer.