So, looking back over this past year, I realize I've only posted to this blog about five times. I started the year with so much hope for this blog. I thought I could manage, at the bear minimum, one post per month. However, I've been burdened by something all year that kept beating me down and kept me from making the effort. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses, and maybe I am, but it really is the truth. There were several events this year that deterred my writing, but the main one was that my oldest son moved out of the house at the beginning of the year. He also moved two states away so he could attend a film school, so that's put one heck of a buffer zone between us.  His moving out seemed to set the stage for the rest of the year for me.  I really miss seeing my son everyday, and I struggled for several months about whether I spent enough time with him while he was younger, when he really wanted my presence. I don't think I did all that bad as a fath...