2018 Year in Review

I wasn't going to do a 'year in review' post this year, but then, I wouldn't be able to use the meme at the end of the post, and that would be a shame.

So - I did it. I took a look back at the top posts from the year, to help me understand what interests you most so that I can make veritable pastiche a more meaningful read. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll pass on certain topics - instead, I think it gives me an opportunity to communicate better, and hopefully write better, too.

Several of the most-visited posts of the year fell under the Wondering on Wednesday theme; here's a sampling:

• v117, which focused on words, how they're used (and by whom) and the First Amendment;
• v119, which included comments about USA Gymnastics and Larry Nassar;
• v121, which looked at 'school shootings' and some misleading statistics;
• v125, primarily about the special election in Pennsylvania and what Dems might learn from it;
• v146, which talked about patriotism in the age of Trump and Colin Kaepernick, and threw in a great 'pearly gates' question; and
• v148, which included a NY Congressional race, Mafia references, and the president acting badly (a common theme)

The Sunday School theme also attracted your attention, including this one from the Sunday after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Parkland students were interviewed, as were Rush Limbaugh and Mark Kelly, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' husband. Another Sunday School post that caught your eye was this post touching on immigration.

There were a couple other popular themes, including Thank Goodness it's Friday, or TGIF.  This post from May would have been a TGIF, except we had another school shooting, which sort of shoved my original post ideas to the side. This edition talks about the government shutdown we were facing back in January, and how Republicans were trying to distances themselves from the president and some new nasty comments he had made.

And finally, we had some fun with presidential poetry, under the OrangeVerse theme. Throughout the year, these posts were pretty consistently popular, although I don't know if it's because you're fans of free verse, or if it's for some other reason.  A series of poetic posts (part 1, part 2 and part 3) arose from Trump's Mar-a-Lago interview with NY Times reporter Michael Schmidt as we entered 2018, and set the tone for what was to come.

As we close out the year, I want to thank you for reading, commenting, subscribing, and for sticking with me in the 4th quarter, where posts were a little less frequent, and (to me at least) some were not up to par.

That was a time of change (and distraction) for me, as I prepared for the next chapter in my life.

This week, I leave a great company - where I started as a temp over 29 years ago - to tackle the retirement 'honey-do list' my already retired husband has been working on for me. Assuming I can clear some things from the list, I'm looking forward to more time for writing, reading, volunteering, and visiting places both red and blue across the US.

Best wishes to you and yours for a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!