2018 by the Numbers

At the end of each year I like to spend a little time reading through old posts and noting - thanks to the statistics feature associated with the blog - which topics were well-received (and which topics weren't, for that matter) by you, my readers. I have always written and will continue to write in my own voice, and I know how important it is for my blog remain a true representation of who I am, but I want my words to reach out in a way you find interesting and engaging.


Along those lines, here are this year's most popular posts:

Wisconsin Bucket List: Ice Boating
Will and Tom experience, for the first time, what it feels like to reach 40 miles an hour on a sailboat on ice skates.

Why, Erin?!
I say "GOOD RIDDANCE" when the jolly green giant (our first hot tub) dies. So of course I buy a second one.

Connections Can Change the World
I recognize the beauty of a small town with big connections and an even bigger heart.

Adulting 201
I outline how I plan to keep Will and Hallie from having to attend Adulting School later in life...

Real Life
...and then admit to the downhill slide that followed all that adulting success.

Pearls for Barbara
We bid farewell to a beautiful, gracious, generous woman. 

This is My Brave
I share my story in an attempt to do my part, however small, to combat the stigma surrounding mental illness.

I Survived...But My Dress Did Not
I lose my dress - and perhaps some of my dignity - at Hallie's dance recital. 

May the Nuts Be With You
Will battles against - and is eventually victorious over - his peanut allergy.

Try Me
I witness - in my children - the benefits that come with trying out and auditioning for various sports teams and dance companies and productions.


And here are a few of my personal favorites:

When the Going Gets Tough, Moms Get Going
Enough said.

14 Years of Big and Little Things
Tom and I celebrate 14 years of marriage.

Gone Camping
I try to overcome my disdain for bugs and critters and pit toilets and sleeping on the ground for my parents, my kids, and my extended camping family.

Share the Love
A friend shares how to make it through the deep, dark month of February.

Colder than Colder than Cold
We survive a week in Antarctica. Kind of.

It's Almost Always "And"
Embrace "and".

The Wave
A new "authentic, caring, and powerful" tradition that "perfectly embodies the Hawkeye family spirit".

Cruising Down the Monarch Highway
Helping save a species. 

It's a Better Place Since You Came Along
My girl's ninth birthday.

12
My boy's 12th birthday.

Thank you, my real life and internet friends, for your support throughout 2018. For reading my posts, following Chasing Roots here on the site, "liking" Chasing Roots on Facebook, and sharing Chasing Roots with your friends and family. I am extraordinarily grateful.

I look forward to spending 2019 with you!