I think 2016 was a real horror show.

Oh, wow, now that's insightful.  Who DIDN'T think 2016 sucked?!  Funeral Directors for Trump, maybe?

Truly, there was very little about which to be happy in the mercifully now-past Year From Hell.  So many high-profile passings.  Probably the worst American election cycle in the history of the country, with an even worse result.  Brexit.  Aleppo.  We're tearing this world apart.  Maybe everyone who left us actually got the better end of the deal; they won't be around to experience the aftermath of what is being wrought.

With all the ugliness and despair that this recent demonic run through the western calendar gave us, there were a few highlights, at least personally:

• Our tenth wedding anniversary (aluminum is traditional, diamonds are modern for those keeping track)
• Son successes
• He is in first grade reading above a third grade level and out-performing everyone; I am in awe of how smart this kid is!
• He has officially became a total Potterhead (ran him through an informal sorting - we're both Hufflepuffs)
• Daughter successes
• Her first dance recital (the cutest thing ever, but I'm biased)
• I took her to her first live play, Beauty and the Beast - she loved it! (of course, now she thinks all plays will be at the outdoor mountain theatre where this one was)
• I got a new position within the company where I work with a better salary, and as of the last week of the year I FINALLY got off swing shift! (I have worked at night for seven and a half years, ever since I started with this company)
• Newest contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially Agent Carter (RIP) season 2, Captain America: Civil War, Luke Cage, and Doctor Strange (I'm a sucker for the franchise)
• The rise of Lin-Manuel Miranda as Entertainer of the Year: Hamilton is a work of genius, he gave the greatest acceptance speech at the Tony Awards (right after the nightclub shooting in Florida - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAG_7qeiOZA), he is well on his way to being an uber-rare PEGOT (that's someone who has won a Pulitzer, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony - only the Oscar has eluded him), and he has become the newest Disney collaborator over several platforms.

So it wasn't ALL bad, but pretty damn close.  Two days into 2017 and I haven't lost all hope for the near future yet.  After the crummy year we just left behind, I'll chalk that up as a victory.