Another Year Gone By

Sometimes I think the highlight of the New Year celebration is the knowledge that the days are, ever so slowly, getting longer and we'll soon see more sun, and eventually more warmth. It doesn't take long for me to tire of cold weather! That aside, it's time to review a few highlights from last year.

I was able to spend a little more time shooting this year than I did last year. I managed to attend 25 IDPA matches, including five sanctioned events; the Chesapeake Cup, Virginia Indoor Regional, MD State Championship, Commonwealth Cup, and Potomac Grail.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend any training events during the year. I had hoped to attend at least one self defense related class as a well as a competition based class. I will add both to the "resolutions" for 2018.

A quick look through my beer list on Untappd reveals that I tried about 175 new-to-me beers during the year. That tally can partially be attributed to the growing number of new breweries in the Fredericksburg area. Our beer explorations were enhanced also as a result of frequent weekend trips, the majority made this fall to attend college football games.

In family news, the year ended on a down note. Colleen's mom passed away a few weeks before Christmas. Her dad is currently undergoing cancer treatment, while we look forward to celebrating his 90th birthday this year. My dad suffered a series of strokes just two days before the holiday and is still affected by serious side affects. Your prayers are appreciated for all of them. We also lost our beloved "Colonel" in February after 14 years of faithful companionship.

On a brighter note, our son continues to do well in school and still makes time for the enjoyable parts of his college years Since he turned 21 this fall, it's been fun to share a few good beers with him. He was also able to purchase his first handgun. Now when we hit the range he has his own gun to clean afterwards, though I still gladly supply the ammo.

In looking to the year ahead, I find I have yet to make many specific plans. I am once again attempting to stay regular with my dry fire practice. My dedication last year was woefully irregular. I picked up a few new books that will hopefully assist in adding more motivation. As noted, I'll look to attending a training class or two in an attempt to advance my skills and knowledge.

I'm unsure what adventures the coming year will hold. I expect we'll continue to take some long weekends throughout the year to explore interesting places, and taste good food and drink. Maybe there will be some travel to shoot an interesting match or two.

I'd like say thank you to those of you who have read these Musings over the past year. Once the weather warms and life's current distractions settle, posting should once again be somewhat regular. I hope you'll continue to find something of interest here. I wish you all the best for 2018.

Happy New Year!