Saturday, December 31, 2016

Reflecting On 2016 And Looking Toward The New Year


As I sit at home this new years eve, I find myself reflecting on the last 12 months of my life. First and foremost, I woke up on the preferable side of the ground this morning, so I suppose I have that to be thankful for. But considering this article would not be possible without these fairly obvious circumstances, you are probably more interested in the other things I have to say.

Last December, I accepted a job with a new company. While I believe that any career change comes with the inevitable doubt of whether you made the right decision to take a new path, the last 12 months has proven to me that it was indeed a great decision for me. I have a great boss, they have great benefits, I truly believe in the product that I am selling, and most importantly, I'm happy.

Most of you probably know this by now, but last year I finally completed a very long and painful custody battle. Without doubt, this was the darkest and most depressing time of my life. But I could not have asked for a better outcome. I ended up with 50/50 equal custody of my daughter, which is exactly what I wanted. While her mother fought me very hard and threw some nasty punches, I would never want to take my daughter from her. We might disagree on many things, but regardless of any of that, she is a good mom. I believe this is a major reason for why we get along so well now. We certainly have our moments of disagreement, but over all, we both seem to be on the same page, only wanting what is best for our little girl. This was my first full year of having 50/50 custody. I could talk all day about this, but what is important, is that my daughter is happier than I have ever seen her. She loves both sides of her family, and is always ecstatic to spend as much time as possible with all of us.

Most of the time I lead a pretty busy life. I have very little down time where I am at a loss of what to do with myself, and I don't remember the last time I was bored. But no matter what I have going on in my life, my blog is my release. I have always loved writing, and have been told for years that I should do something with my talent. So last year I began thinking about starting this blog. After months of contemplation and planning, I posted my first article in February and had over 200 people read it. Over the last ten months, I have seen my following increase to what I previously thought was an un-achievable level. My posts are averaging 300-500 unique hits, I had two of my articles published by a large website, and I currently have over 6,000 views. Meanwhile, I am still shocked that this many people actually care what I have to say, but I am thankful for every single one of you, and of course, for the $1.95 you have made me so far in Google AdSense revenue.

When I think back over this year, there are two moments that I believe I will look back on when I remember 2016. The first, is the July shooting of Dallas police officers, in which 5 officers were killed and 9 more injured. I am a big supporter of law enforcement, and in this instance, one of the deceased officers was my neighbor, while another was very close to a good friend of mine.

The second memorable moment of 2016 for me was the conclusion of the Presidential election. The entire campaign was like nothing I have ever seen before. While many people are upset about Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton, I am looking forward to seeing what President Trump can achieve over the next 4-8 years, and I am thankful that we don't have to witness a Hillary Clinton presidency.

Wishing you peace, love and hope in the upcoming year,

Diabolical Dad

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