I still carry a torch

It was just over a year ago that I started writing for BloggingBaby, the precursor to ParentDish. (I got it in my head that it was the 26th, but it was actually the 21st.) The first story I did was "The night the lights went out at Ikea" and, yes, I still carry around a flashlight on my belt. Since then, I've written a lot of posts, covered a lot of stories, and learned a lot. Definitely learned a lot.

Not everyone has always agreed with me but I've really enjoyed hearing other people's points of view. I am also very thankful for all the advice and suggestions I've gotten during the past twelve months. Here are some of my favorite and most memorable posts that I've done over the past year:
The most discussed story I've reported on, by far, was the grandmother who acted as surrogate mother for her daughter and son-in-law. It was a touching story of a mother who definitely went above and beyond to help her daughter become a mother. Also highly controversial was the story about the baby/parenting magazine that had the audacity to show a picture of a baby breastfeeding on its cover. It still amazes me that people get their knickers in a twist about something as ordinary as breastfeeding. Also on that subject, I was glad to be able to spotlight the important role that dads play in breastfeeding -- their support and assistance is critical in making the process easier.

I am rather proud of the articles I did about MySpace's censoring of breastfeeding pictures. I enjoyed posing questions to the moms affected and compiling their answers for the second post in that series. I'm looking forward to doing more stories like this -- I've got one in the works currently.

I got a real laugh out of the story about the theatre that changed their marquee to list "The Hoohaa Monologues", after a sensitive motorist was offended by the original title of the play. I also got a good laugh sharing Jared's brand of logic with you after spending a scorching day with friends.

I truly appreciate the advice I got in regards to what I should do (or not do) about Sara's left-handedness. We got a lot of good tips and suggestions. I am also grateful for the comments about when to start kids using chopsticks. I tried, but ended putting that on hold because Jared and Sara mostly used them to stab each other. Now that they're a little older, perhaps it's time to try again.

I've written about a lot of heroes, both kids and parents, but the one that touched me the most was the Clemson University football star who was raising his younger brother. At the time, he was trying to get a waiver from the NCAA so that his teachers and coaches could help out with picking his brother up from school or taking care of the boy while he was at away games. The good news was that he was indeed granted his waiver so he could finish his studies, keep playing football, and still care for his brother.

I know Rachel's (my wife, for those keeping score at home) favorite story was the first one I did, about the blackout at Ikea. My favorite set of stories, however, was the series I did about our family vacation in Yosemite last summer. There was my initial introduction and solicitation for advice, the follow-ups (parts one, two, three, four, and five) and the lessons I learned. It was a great trip and I enjoyed writing about it.

Anyway, I've enjoyed this past year and hope you all have too. I'm looking forward to a lot more years learning and sharing with you. Thanks!