The year in Writing from the Heart: 2017

When I was new to the workforce, I wrote every day. I churned out copy faster than President Trump, love him or hate him, pushes out a new tweet. When my career took a few unexpected twists and turns, I wrote less, but still needed a creative outlet.

Fortunately, I got the idea for this blog. I created the blog three years ago to get back in the writing habit. I’ve come to love the immediate feedback. I need to make some improvements to my site to make it easier for others to find and read, but I still love the instant feedback.

Here’s the stories that hit home with the most readers in 2018:

—Proving the experts wrong: Celebrating graduation. My story of how my son who is dyslexic encountered early challenges reading and writing. In fact, he was once told he would have trouble reading basic street signs. Through hard work, though, he graduated high school, reads at an above-college level, and started college this past fall.

—Living with the unknown, living with MS. How I learned to take one step at a time.

—Planning my own goodbye party. My effort to plan my own funeral party! It’s not as morose as I’m sure that sounds.

—Goodbyes are the hardest.  My November blog on the various goodbyes that I’ve had in my life: my fiancé, who would become my wife; my children going to college; and to those who’ve passed.

—My Central Pennsylvania roots call me home. How you can take the boy out of the country and put him in Southeastern Pennsylvania suburbia, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.

While the ones above had the most readers, here’s the ones that I loved the most:

—My life of Christmas crime. When isn’t it fun to write about getting a sneak peak at your Christmas presents?

—Pleasant dreams with Dad. My dream that I had walking in the park with my father.

—Party of six, your table is ready. I got my list. What about you? Six people, one night, one dinner, who ya picking?

—Making a connection at 65 mph. How I’ve been able to “connect” with my kids with my hands on the steering wheel.

—If heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates? My response should I ever be interviewed by James Lipton.

What’s your favorite? Please be sure to let me know.

In any event, thanks for reading.