Author: Wil

It is unseasonably warm here (you're welcome, Southern California; I brought the weather from JoCoCruseCrazy home with me) so project Get Outside And Exercise A Little Bit Every Day has been easier than it was in December.

Yesterday, I took Seamus with me on my walk. The Western sky was beginning to turn red and gold as the sun prepared to char the other side of the world and come back to us as we walked down the driveway and out into the street. 

As we neared the top of our block, a woman I rarely see was working in her front yard, planting something near the curb. She's probably in her 70s, has white hair pulled back into a bun and a heavily-lined face straight out of the Grapes of Wrath.

She dusted the dirt off her hands and stabbed her small shovel into the freshly-turned earth. She looked up at me and smiled. 

"You have a nice walk about," she said.

I smiled back at her. "Thank you! I think I will."

We continued up the street and around the corner, Seamus stopping to smell every tree, bush, and fire hydrant along the way. When we got home, he walked over to his little dog bed and was asleep and snoring before I had put his leash away. I poured myself a glass of water, stood on my porch, and watched the sun set.

Nothing special or unusual happened while we were out. I didn't have any epiphanies or anything while I stood on my porch and watched black silhouettes fly across the gloaming sky. It was just a beautiful half an hour, during which I enjoyed the quiet, simple pleasures of walking my dog and hearing a kind word from a neighbor.

And that, I think, is why it's worth remembering.

…but my inner ear is pretty convinced that I am. Goodtimes. Goodtimes.

Until I have enough moments in a row to reflect on and recount the amazing and wonderful time I had on #JoCoCruiseCrazy, I wanted to take a second to share the best part of the entire trip for me:

For seven days and six nautical nights, every single person who met my kids told me how much they liked Ryan and Nolan. Words like "articulate" and "polite" and "hilarious" and "awesome" were used more than once. As a father, this is the best thing I can ever hear, and I'm incredibly proud of my kids for being exactly who they are.

More to come, but probably not for a couple of days.

I'm going to be on JoCo Cruise Crazy until January 8. I thought it was kind of important to stay connected, keep Twittering and blogging and Internetting while I was on a boat, but after much deliberation, decided that I will not be purchasing Holland America's Yes, We Use The Whole Fist internet package. 

I'm not going to lie to you, Marge: the idea of no internet for a whole week makes me a little twitchy, but it's been a really hectic end of the year, and I think that I'll enjoy myself a heck of a lot more if I stay offline, read books, play games, enjoy the time with my family, and get my geek on at every opportunity.

One final thought before I sign off: I looked at my desk a couple nights ago, and told Anne, "I sat there for months and wrote Dancing Barefoot and Just A Geek. That's where I started my blog, and built my first website." I paused for a moment, because I felt a lump rising in my throat. "Remember how frustrated and scared I was ten years ago? How hard I was struggling?"

"Yeah," she said, quietly.

"I don't want to be all 'hey, look how great I am,' but I'm so grateful that my hard work finally paid off."

She put her arms around my waist and kissed me. "Me too." 

I held her for a second. "It all started right here. Isn't that weird?"

"I don't think it's weird. I think it's kind of awesome."

I kissed her face and she kissed me back.

2010 was easily the best year I've had in a decade, and 2011 is looking like it's going to be pretty amazing, too. So happy new year to you all, and thank you for reading my blog and my books, watching me on TV, interacting with me on Twitter, and just being part of this incredible chapter in my life. 

Happy New Year, everyone! Talk to you in a week.