I took my last run of the year this morning. I had planned to go for a short one, but I ran for about six miles; my body was craving movement after the celebrations over the past week. While I ran, I thought about the last year. In many ways, it was the best year of my life – a full calendar year of being a family with Jared and Lucia – and in other ways, I was challenged to see beyond the darkness in the world; election ugliness, deaths, illness, racism, the war in Syria, climate change – it all seems like so much bad, bad, bad.

When I get in these moods and I feel hopeless and ineffective, Lucia is usually there to coax me back from the edge and remind me that love really does make all the difference.

So, I’m not ignoring the darkness out there, but I’m fighting back with light. Here’s a look at the last year’s highlights in seasons.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

2016, you were everything, darkness and light, sorrow and joy. 2017, welcome.