2015 Recap

I didn't send any Christmas cards this year because I was lazy busy doing other very important things. To make up for it, I've done something that is impossible in a paper card...and also annoying...I present to you, 2015 in animated GIFs.

After taking a sabbatical from boards and committees in 2014, I co-chaired a fundraising appeal for my congregation. It was incredible to witness people's generosity. But I guess the biggest news of 2015 was career related. Early in the year I started my own consulting business, helping nonprofits with technology investment decisions and planning. I loved being independent, but after only a few months, a job opportunity came along that I just couldn't pass up. Since April I've been executive director (= CEO) of Idealware, a national nonprofit that does publishing and training on tech topics for the nonprofit sector. One fringe benefit is that now I get all the jokes on Nonprofit with Balls. I also know where to get the best chowder in Portland, Maine, a city I've visited several times this year because several of my coworkers are based there.

Liam started fourth grade this fall, which meant he got to be in the school musical, Kids on Broadway. No risk of him joining a boy band though, because he also plays an instrument - actually two, piano and baritone. Some of his favorite activities are going to the skate part with friends, taking care of our gerbils, playing video games, and building Lego contraptions. He played soccer this summer and spent a week at YMCA camp. We finished reading the Harry Potter series aloud together and then I tricked him into becoming a Percy Jackson fan.

Timothy continues to be a fan of nature and all things furry. He was delighted to watch a pair of Cooper's Hawks raise their chicks in our neighborhood. We visited Costa Rica for spring break, and Timothy was especially observant, noticing centipedes on the jungle floor and lovely shells on the beach. One of the highlights was hiking on a recently active volcano. He learned to swim this year, and to make a grilled cheese sandwich by himself. He's an imaginative kid who makes up elaborate fantasies, including one about the harvest party that he is going to host at his farm someday, and recently one about a family of Ewoks that live in our back yard.

There weren't any huge changes for Will this year, he just keeps on going and going. He continues to run races, and this year after a great deal of encouragement from Will, I joined him in a half marathon. He is working as a software developer for a mortgage company. He finished off a space in our attic, set up an exercise room with a wall mounted TV, played in softball and broom ball leagues, and read a couple of enormous history books. In August, Will and his dad took the boys to Washington DC and New York City, then met up with me in Boston. 

To all my friends and family reading this, I wish you the very best in 2016!