2019 Blogging Year in Review

(A hat tip to Mali, whose post "2016: Looking back on the blog" has inspired me to do the same for the past three years. Also to Mel, whose Crème de la Crème lists from 2007 to 2012 prompted me & other bloggers to review our posts from the year past & pick out our favourites to share.  (There was a list in 2006 too, but that was before I started my blog.)  If the Crème de la Crème list still existed, one of these posts would probably be the one I would have submitted. :) )

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As I mentioned in my 2019 year in review post, I published 164 posts this past/last year (165, including this one) -- my second-best blogging year ever, in terms of number of posts, second only to 2008, which was my first full year of blogging. :)  That's an average of about 14 posts per month. There was not a month in 2019 where I posted under 10 times, and there were two months that had 19 posts each.  :)  

In addition to posts about childless/free issues, I tried to do a "Right now" or "The Current" post at the beginning of each month, and participated in 47 #MicroblogMondays.  I reviewed (or will be reviewing) all of the 50 books I read in 2019, and wrote about news items (usually ALI-related) that piqued my interest. I also wrote a lot about what was going on my life, some of which touched on aspects of ALI/childless/free living -- many about Older Nephew & Niece-in-Law's pregnancy and the arrival of our first great-nephew -- and some that didn't, including aging, (peri)menopause, retirement and condo living. 

Here are a few of my favourite/noteworthy posts from 2019, in more or less chronological order (from oldest/earliest in 2019 to most recent):

• 58 -- Thoughts on my 58th birthday. 
• End of an era -- The demise of the pregnancy loss/subsequent pregnancy email list, after almost 25 years in existence, that brought me so much comfort after the loss of my daughter.  
• So why aren't there more of us? (part 2) -- Why do so few people openly embrace a non-parent identity after infertility? 
• "The Right Way to Follow Your Passion"-- Thoughts on an article I read. 
• Great expectations :) -- Older Nephew & his wife announce they're expecting their first child! -- with a due date one day off from my own, 21 years earlier (!).
• They went there... -- My disappointment over the series finale of "The Big Bang Theory" TV show. 
• Happy retirement, Dr. Ob-gyn -- Saying goodbye to my obstetrician/gynecologist (and his wonderful staff) of the past 21 years.
• The universe is screwing with me, big time -- Pregnant Niece-in-law's first ob/gyn visit is August 7th -- the day I delivered my stillborn daughter, 21 years earlier. 
• Social media minefields -- Navigating social media minefields. 
• 21 -- Reflections on Katie's day, 21 years later. 
• First day of school -- I create my own "first day of school" post for social media. ;)  
• #MicroblogMondays: Getting ready -- Viewing our great-nephew's nursery brings on all the feels. 
• #MicroblogMondays: "Diversify your identity" -- Thoughts on an article about diversifying our identity in the same way we diversify our investments. 
• "If you don't want to have kids, you don't have to want a career instead" -- An article gets me thinking. 
• #MicroblogMondays: Introducing... -- Our great-nephew is here!!  :) 
• Not the grandma -- Finding a balance between helpfulness & intrusion in my new role as great-aunt. 
• This is what it's like -- Being a great-aunt is wonderful -- but it's also a reminder of everything we've missed out on. 
• #MicroblogMondays: The stocking at the bottom of the box -- A Christmas stocking at the bottom of the box invokes memories.