The 2017 100 Wrap-Up: 31 Successes.

Last updated on April 30th, 2021 at 04:56 pm

Several weeks, a few dozen photos and four thousand words later, we’ve finally made it—the Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad 2017 wrap-up, filled with stories aplenty of 365 days spent in my not-so-orthodox life.

After wrapping the year up on a quiet note (because two sick children under five will do that to you), I still felt it necessary to do this. These year-to-year changeovers offer a lot of perspective for me—with so much happening all the time, I often forget what I had for breakfast, so I write everything down. And if the height of the pile on my desk is any sign, 2017 was quite the year. But it’s also the time where I’m the most transparent, looking back objectively at everything I’ve done and celebrating successes, owning up to failures, hoping all the while that I’m somehow growing from the process.

But yeah—let’s do this as we did in 2016: look at the year in excruciating detail, figuring out what’s worth taking with me into 2018 versus what doesn’t feel part of my world anymore.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present—the 31 things I did well in 2017! Let’s get it!

Are You There, Casey? It’s Me, Real Life.

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 12:34 am

And then suddenly, it all came to a stop.

Sometimes Life Gives You Exactly What You Want. And Sometimes… it Has OTHER Plans.

Are You There, Casey? It's Me, Real Life.—A Stoic Casey

2017’s been one heck of a year. Shattering my previous expectations for the #BloggerLife by taking me places—in every sense of the word—and opening doors I wouldn’t even consider approaching, this year raised the bar in ways I never dreamed possible. I thought I’d finally made it.

But with every action comes an equal yet opposite reaction, and September rolled in with some very different plans. New routines with my eldest starting Kindergarten. Kids refusing to sleep through the night. Budget season at the day job kicking my butt in every which direction. I felt like the rest of my life was conspiring to hold my #BloggerLife back, and no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t feel up to the task when asked to put pen to paper.

You know what, though? That changes now. Complaints won’t get me anywhere—I can whine all I want about whatever gets in my way, but it won’t make many of them go away. My to-do list isn’t getting any shorter, and though it’d be all too easy to sit back and sulk because things are too challenging, what exactly does that gain me?

So yeah—it’s time I pick up the pieces (of paper in this case), and make some magic happen. With the few months left in 2017, there’s no better time to tie up loose ends and get a clean slate ready for the year ahead. There’s no shortage of topics to tackle, and the hundreds of posts I’ve yet to write won’t do it themselves.

Thanks for your patience, y’all—let’s see how far we can take this!

Until the next,

The second logo for Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad
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