Life continues to move pretty fast.

Yesterday I lit a fire under my own rear end and decided to put together the family video for the year (a tradition of sorts that started way back when I began making videos documenting each month of our kiddo’s first years), and if nothing else, I can say with confidence that the Hogan family has been on the move.

In the course of this past year: Atlanta, Miami, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Labadee (Haiti); Washington, D.C. with Thomas (the kiddo-trip-with-Dad experience); Cherry Grove (the annual Beach Week); out west–Denver, then Las Vegas, then Zion National Park, then Grand Canyon National Park, then Phoenix; then to Toronto for a Springsteen concert, then to New Jersey to visit family. Not to mention a bunch of trips around Cackalack.

It was the year a hurricane came and devastated so many towns and communities here in western NC, an occasion where I found myself sitting in for my boss while he was out of the country. (This, coincidentally, was roughly where my commitment to working out every week sort of fell apart. See more below.)

But it was a year of extraordinary growth and opportunity, a year I end with a feeling of genuine contentment. A year when I decided to get to work on a goal to visit all 50 states. A year in which I cannot do more than slap myself in wonder of the blessings God has afforded us, blessings we could not have possibly earned. Blessings we ought to share as much as we are able.

On January 1 of this year, I posted my annual list of New Years resolutions, and keeping with tradition, I’m reporting back on my progress.

  • Explore faith through writing. I did this better than many of my other writing commitments in years before. I guess that’s decent? I posted a couple of things around Advent this year. But really the bulk of it was in the beginning of the year (Lent) and a couple of meditations. So yeah. January, February, a looooong period of nothing, then Advent. But I guess that’s more than zero. Also, this year, we joined the Presbyterian church in Sylva. I feel like it’s been a year of spiritual growth, a year where I’ve had more time than before to study and pray and contemplate. The writing piece may not have been as consistent as I’d hoped, but there was a lot more than just the writing.
  • Walk, lift, move. Man, it was going so well from about January through about September. I went to the gym on campus about three times a week. I did my best to satisfy the trio of minor gods trapped inside my Apple watch: move, exercise, stand. Many days I completed their Sisyphean circles. Some days I did not. The point is that I was reasonably consistent for nine months this year, and that was pretty dang good. I fell hard off the wagon the last quarter. I’m excited to recommit and get back to it.
  • Learn to fly fish. Check. Back in May, my friend Dale, who happens to also run the Tuckaseegee Fly Shop, took me out on the water for an introductory lesson and a couple of hours successfully hauling in some very good looking fish. I approached this with the idea that perhaps I could cultivate it into a hobby. I still like to think I could, but admittedly I haven’t gone back to invest in equipment or learn more. There are volumes to learn about fly fishing. An overwhelming amount of knowledge. I guess you have to start somewhere.
  • Tend friendships and relationships. Perhaps my friends and relatives (and Kel) would be the better judges on this. I felt like I was able to make regular opportunities to get together with friends. I’m deeply grateful for friendships that grew warmer this year. More than ever, I tried to commit time for friends: minutes or even seconds to fire off texts here and there, hours to spend sharing pints or playing golf or something else. Time to spend with my family. Today, Kel and I were taking our last walk up to the meadow for the year, and I talked about how my perspective about time spent with friends and loved ones is taking on new meaning for me. Time is precious.
  • Weep. Okay, so this one was a bit idiosyncratic, and I admit the reason it made the list in the first place was because I was wondering if I’d done too much in life to shelter myself. Friends, I did not break down into heaving sobs this year. I did wipe tears away on many, many occasions. There were plenty of sad moments, plenty of doldrums. I am at ease with the spectrum of feelings across the year.
  • Hike Mt. LeConte. Doggone it, I failed at this. It had more to do with the fact that it’s a full day commitment, and it’s better to have a long day at that, and really the better opportunities I had were back in the fall. I should have done it as soon as I could. I still aim to–it’ll just have to be in the spring. Right now, the trail has snow on it, and I don’t have crampons or traction helpers for my boots and the days are short. And cold. Now, to be fair, we did hike the Narrows in Zion. That was breathtaking.
  • Play music. I didn’t do this as much as I’d like, but I’m incredibly grateful to have spent time playing music with the kiddos and, on rare occasions, friends. Late this year we added a computer to the mix, and it’s given me the thought to set up the oldest one out in the garage with the synth and the drum kit. Maybe that will become my new recording spot. More to do here. Something I’m really looking forward to: recording Thomas playing a sax solo and adding it to a song I first recorded years ago.
  • Graduate. Boy, did I. I graduated. With a doctorate. Holy moly. It’s so weird. I get mail from NC State addressed to Dr. James Hogan. People call me Dr. Hogan on occasion and it’s really, really funny. They put Dr. James Hogan on the directory on the wall at work. That gave me a chuckle. What on earth? I’m humbled to make it all the way to the end of a terminal degree. That’s the end. No more graduating now. They gave me a diploma, and life got busy, and it stayed in the little folder until one day I almost bent it and I ordered a frame off of Amazon, and now it hangs on the wall with the other two college degrees. I have three of them. Wow.
  • Do the Wordle. For the most part, I did the dang thing every day. I missed a handful of days, including the days when we totally lost communication in western NC. I think that can be forgiven. I think I’m probably averaging 3.5. The real joy of the Wordle is the family Wordle thread, where we all share our scores and say hello.
  • Sail away. As referenced above, we all took off aboard the S.S. Absurdity and enjoyed one of the most indulgent weeks ever. It was terrific. I freely admit I would like to do it again. I especially seem to get the itch about this time of the year, when we’re staring down a couple more months of cold. Oh it is wonderful to think back to warmth, humidity, Red Stripe, seafood, perpetual conga lines, etc.

Happy New Year, friends. I hope the year has been good to you. I feel good about 2025, even if the year itself feels firmly planted in sci-fi made-up future land. I’ve got the ham and the corn bread and the collard greens and black eyed peas ready. And some good Scotch for tonight, if I can stay awake.