Happy New Year everyone.
Looking back on 2013, it was a pretty good one personally and professionally. My wife and kids still seem to like me. So, personally, we’ll call that a win. Amy & I completed our 13th year of marriage. The family took a couple of cool trips – one cruise in the Bahamas and one trip out west to South Dakota and Colorado. On the sad side, I lost a couple of close members of my family – Gran and my Uncle Fritz. The sadness of those losses was tempered by the fact that both had lived full lives and both were in positions where their passing was a blessing to them.
My law firm struggled through some bumps associated with personnel changes – we lost a couple of long-time staff members and have new members learning the ropes. For most of August, we were almost entirely without Internet service due to issues with Frontier that the company refused to address. (Comcast is rarely the hero in any story; but they got us back online.)
Professionally, I had a couple of what I regard as major accomplishments for the year: I went to the 7th Circuit and successfully argued a case that resulted in a published decision on police immunity on an excessive force claim. I also went to a jury trial and successfully defended a personal trainer who was being sued for $1.3 million by a local dentist who claimed that the trainer’s negligence caused the dentist’s injury.
The golf outing I help organize for our county Legal Aid had its most successful fund raising year. And, I coached or helped coach both of my kids’ soccer teams. The boys’ teams had especially good years – I think they only lost one regular season game.
My running slacked a bit from last year. I think I logged something like 260 miles this year compared to more like 320 last year; and I only ran a couple of 5ks and no half marathons. But, I still got out there and kept in decent shape, I think.
Less tangibly, thanks to my wife’s skill with our social calendar; I felt like we continued to put roots down in our community. (We’ve lived in Tippecanoe County for 7 years now and in West Lafayette for 3). We’ve grown closer to our friends in town, and I feel more attached to this place than ever.
Anyway, enough self-indulgent reflection. Thanks for continuing to read this blog (which will turn 10 years old late in 2014). I’ll get back to substantive commentary here shortly.
Thanks for starting and maintaining this blog. It’s certainly worth my time, and I continually learn from it.
Hey Doug keep us posted on the Golf Outing it looks like the one at the Lafayette Brewing Company may come to a end. If so I will get my brothers to come up and hit a few balls for a good cause.