There. I managed to take all of 2017 off from this blog. It was a time of freedom, a time of whimsy, a time of drunkness. Words for what happened during the last year are everywhere. It might be better if we washed the slate clean. Not that I had a bad year. I don’t use Facebook, and I don’t read Twitter, so I really enjoyed myself. I just feel like I am at a stage where I need to learn more about things that are important to me personally. Here are ten really important things I learned between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2018.

1. I learned that I love my wife more every day. A stable lifetime relationship is very important to me. (Okay, I knew that. Somehow I know it even more now than I did a year ago.)

2. I learned that I like the Replacements.

3. I learned how to double space a query letter into the body of an e-mail. If you need help with it I can give it to you. If you know more than I do, or are an agent, please share. Actually, if you’re an agent, would you like to take a look at my manuscript? It’s YA Fantasy, 50,000 words.

4. I learned what it’s like to buy a home.

5. I learned that ePub makes my manuscripts look amazing. I’m not sure what to do now. (Except keep telling my stories, of course.)

6. I learned how to mark the buoys on Lake Tahoe with a GPS from my paddleboard.

7. I learned that I really do like a shorter snowboard.

8. I learned how to brush the dogs’ teeth and trim their nails without anyone getting hurt. I can’t offer advice on that one. I imagine that every dog is different.

9. I learned that reading glasses mess with depth perception. Then I learned what it’s like to live with a concussion.

10. I learned that working with someone else on their writing can be helpful to my writing.

I’ve been a proud Minnesota Vikings fan since the fall of 1990, my first year in college. It’s going to be a wild month.