One of the nice things about having toward the beginning of the year is that it makes it doubly significant when looking back at the last year.  It puts a year in a little more perspective than just, "Oh, I need to remember to write different a different on checks."  

I recently saw that Matt Mullenweg of WordPress and Automattic fame has written at least a short post on each of his birthdays for the past dozen years.  That's really cool and a good idea.  First, it makes you sit down, even if just briefly, and think about the past year.  But more importantly, it provides a nice written history on the year that you can look back for as long as this Internet thing hangs on (definitely going to regret that joke when I look back, next year).

Even in its immediate aftermath, it's clear that 2013 and the age of 27 will be one of the most significant of my life.  It's crazy to know that right away, but there's no doubt about it that even when I'm 64, I'll look back on this year as a momentous one.  I could write for hours and hours on the year, but I'd rather just list the highlights and keep the memories:

1. Got engaged to a pretty cool girl.  It only seems fitting that the first of these posts features her, and I couldn't be more excited for the coming years.
2. Ran a marathon.  It was with said girl from #1, and it was a very difficult and rewarding experience.
3. Took a vacation to Costa Rica.  Again, same girl tagged along.  Somewhat of a trend.  This was an awesome trip that we took before Sarada started her first year of graduate school.  We had a great time and highly recommend the country to anyone.  Check out the blog post for details.
4. Went on a spur of the moment hiking trip on the Tour du Mont Blanc with one of my best buddies.  He was changing jobs and gave me one hell of a pep talk to come over to Europe for this hike on just 3 weeks notice.  Totally worth it. One week, 3 countries, and endless great memories.
5. Bought a new car.  Went with high-mileage and used, again. The Schossow-special, haha.  We'll see how it works out, but I'm loving it so far.
6. Started decorating our new home.  We love our condo in downtown Chapel Hill and this was the year that we started decorating it to make it ours and start slowly parting with old, hand-me-down furniture.  It has been a fun process and one I've enjoyed much more than I anticipated.  My bank account...not so much.
7. Added two new team members to NMC.  It was a fun year at the company, and we grew by a couple!

There were awesome trips, lots of friends' weddings, and plenty more in between all of these things, but I think 7 big life events is plenty for one year!

I'm really excited for the next year.  I've got a bachelor party, wedding, and honeymoon, which is crazy and great.  Sarada will be moving back from grad school, which will be awesome.  I feel like NMC is really strongly positioned for the next year, and I'm excited to work very hard to help it continue growing.  I definitely want to write more and stay tuned for updates on the year, here.  Also, I've thrown up a Tumblr: http://clayschossow.tumblr.com that I'm really enjoying so far -- it's a great bridge between Twitter and this blog.

Thanks to everyone and here's to 2014!