I can no longer think back on 2016 with any kind of rational emotion. When I think about all that happened this year, I slant toward the negative, as I’m seeing so many people do on social media. I do believe this was a year I’d like to leave behind, in some ways, but not everything that happened was bad.
So, I started thinking about it in numbers, not because I love numbers but because numbers are rational. Logical. Non-emotional.
Here are some personal stats from 2016, in no particular order.
74: Books I marked as “read” on Goodreads, which was short of my goal of 100. (Too ambitious.)
6: Grown-up puzzles our family put together this year, highlighting our vacation to Williamsburg Va., and a day trip to Philadelphia, among other scenes. 
2: Job changes for my husband. Both unexpected. Both pushing us in a new direction.
90: The age of my grandfather when he died this summer.
108: Years it had been since the Cubs won the World Series before this year.
20: Years since I graduated high school. Celebrated with classmates at our reunion this summer.
1st and 3rd: Grades our kids entered this year, making me feel old and useless.
50,000: Words I wrote on a new novel in November.
93: Blog posts I’ve published on this site this year (including this one, if my math is right)
8: Months since I started volunteering with refugees
38: The age I turned on my birthday this year
186,000: Miles we surpassed on our mini-van
4: Round-trip flights this year
3.5: Years we’ve lived in Lancaster, in the first floor of this farmhouse
98.61: Miles I walked this fall and winter, which started as a fundraiser for refugees. (My goal was 100. I’ll get there.)
It may not be super-exciting, but it’s fun to see some numbers in retrospect.
Happy New Year!
Old and useless? You? Never, my friend.