Never Too Late for a Resolution

2011 was not a great year for this blog. It's not that nothing happened worth writing about, or that so much was happening I just didn't have the time. No, I simply didn't write.

2011 was not a great year for me. It's not that I didn't go on amazing trips, or that it was terrible from start to finish. No, but it was a succession of highs and lows.

The year began with frequent trips to Michigan. I don't often feel the need to "go home" or visit much outside of holidays or the occasional friend's wedding. I know my mom misses me, but I also know how much she supports me and my living wherever my life takes me. But when she was in an awful car accident, there was nowhere I wanted to be more than Michigan.

In the days after the accident, I spent days in the hospital, and nights at a diner nearby. I heard things from doctors about how bones break, fracture, and shatter, and how permanently damaging these things can be. I learned all about Michigan's no-fault auto accident insurance laws. My mom, meanwhile, simply decided to get better.

Within days she was on her feet. Within weeks, home from the hospital. Within months, walking, driving, and living a normal life. My mom is the most amazing person I know. I don't call her often enough.

Acapulco Bay

With winter's low on it's way out, spring brought a new high. Lynn, her brother, his girlfriend, and I all took a trip to Acapulco together. How does one describe a week in paradise? Sun, yes. Beach, yes. Relaxing? Definitely. And the food, oh, the food.

Summer began with frequent trips to Michigan--and other places around the Midwest. The grand Midwestern tour began again in Michigan, celebrating my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. It was soon off to Wisconsin for Lynn's family gathering. Then over to Minneapolis for Mu Beta Psi's Alumni Association annual meeting. Back again to Michigan for a friend's wedding. And the pendulum, as all the best pendulums do, swung back.

Summer ended, and autumn began, with frequent trips to Michigan. My grandfather's health was failing, and I found myself once again drawn to the place I once called home. Hospital trips, family gatherings, the constant fear of a fundamental change in my world.

I love Strasbourg.

Somewhere in there, Lynn and I took our second amazing trip of the year, through Strasbourg, France and Bavaria. It was perfect. As I so often hope to do, maybe I can back-date some posts on it. For now, these pictures will have to suffice.

Somewhere in there, Lynn and I spent a quiet weekend with my grandpa and grandma filled with stories and discoveries. My grandpa meant more to me than I know how to express, even now. Thanksgiving night, he passed away. He was the most amazing person I knew. I never called him often enough.

And so 2011 came and went. I traveled more. I danced more. I cried more. This year, I will write more, take more pictures, and learn more. (And travel. And dance. Maybe less crying.)