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!

The Week That Was… September 27th – October 3rd, 2015

Last updated on November 17th, 2020 at 02:28 am

Pretty sure I had this idea before, but couldn’t make it stick. Putting together a quick synopsis of the week to show what I’d been up to without needing a full post for every little thing.

But the last time I did it? I overthought everything, getting too lost in the details to make it effective.

This time it’ll be quick, dirty, and good for people who just want the highlights of what your favourite blogger’s favourite blogger* is up to!

So let’s go!!!

Sunday, September 27th

Started the week by wrapping up our church retreat at Camp Kwasind in Utterson, ON, a few hours north of Toronto. Little Man had a killer time, even going as far as finding comfort in the arms of other parents.

You do you, bro. You do you.

Also, I’m horrible at foosball.

Jeux Sans Frontières

Last updated on March 30th, 2021 at 01:41 pm

“Aiyyo, I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’, I can’t get up
Aiyyo, I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’, I can’t get up
Aiyyo, I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’, I gots to get up
Get back on my feet so I can tear **** up.”

— DMX, “Slippin'”, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (1998)

Sometimes you need to take a real honest look at yourself.

As 2014 ends, I’m sitting on a stack of ideas, my backpack a few notebooks deep weighing more than the weight of their pages—it’s the weight of their potential that holds me down.

I’m older now, feeling my way through a young person’s game. My bones creak, I don’t bounce back like I used to—a younger generation came into the blogosphere, leaving us 30-something bloggers feeling like yesterday’s news. They run Vine. They run YouTube. With so many channels I’ve never considered, seeing content go from 30-minute blog reads to 3-minutes YouTube videos—when Vines are seconds long but rack in millions of views, you know things done changed!

While I’m still loyal to the Twitter and Facebook audiences I’ve grown over time, these platforms are past their prime. Zach Bussey compared Twitter’s rise and fall to a zombie apocalypse, everyone’s Moms got themselves Facebook accounts—the end is nigh and content creators need to ask themselves some questions: what do they want to gain? Why do they still blog? Will they change to keep up with the times, or are there other things they should do with their time?

And that last question’s exactly what I’m trying to answer every day I’m on the grind.

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