During a year that saw the cancelation of so much, somehow Don’t Blink managed to stay afloat. That’s right, this 9-year-old blog continued to grind out posts over the past 12 months. Why Brent? Hasn’t this world suffered enough in 2020?

All joking aside, writing provided a release for me during a year that was ripe with COVID anxiety and an aggressively toxic political news cycle. Because I managed to feed my blogging appetite in 2020, it means that I am in position to present my seventh annual Big Blog Post. This is my favorite entry of the year when I look back at what I wrote over the past 52 weeks, tab my 10 favorite posts, and rank them.

In 2020 I published 172 posts, up from the 165 posts  I wrote in 2019 but a far cry from the 253 posts I wrote during my peak year of 2014. Considering we added a new baby to our family along with other major life events in 2020, I won’t get down on myself for this year’s blogging output. 

As I say every year, the list is mostly reflective of my personal opinion. However, audience feedback and blog post traffic are always considered when making my final decisions. Thanks for reading in 2020 and let’s get this countdown started…

10. Beau’s Newborn Photos (November 23) – Not promising anything, but Beau might be leading AND ending the countdown this year. Not too long after Beau arrived home from the NICU, my friend and former co-worker Judy Johns came over to take newborn photos. Judy is the director of photography at Coastal Carolina University and one of the best photographers you will ever meet. In this particular post I showcase some of my favorite images from her beautiful work.

Judy’s work is incredible and I enjoyed the opportunity to include some of my favorite images in this blog post.

9. The Joys of Working From Home (August 12) – I am always careful to paint the pandemic in any type of favorable light. However, if there was one result from COVID-19 that turned out pretty well for us it was the directive to work remotely. In this blog post I reflected on what a joy it has been to work upstairs while my wife and kids are safe/content downstairs. From enjoying the early mornings to eating daily lunch with my kids to simply walking down a flight of stairs when the work day is over, this post conveyed the joys of working under my own roof.

Working from home in 2020 has been nice.

8. March 2020: I Will Never Forget (March 31) – In March, the world changed. COVID-19 introduced itself on a mainstream level and life as we knew it took a hike. But our family didn’t need the added pandemic to make it a crazy month. We packed up our house, I moved across the country, Sloan celebrated her third birthday, and I started a new job. In this blog post I looked back at a month we will never forget, beginning with seemingly normal daddy-daughter dates and ending with a bizarre earthquake. March was CRAZY and I am glad I documented it.

Before I left for Washington, I had an early birthday celebration for Sloan.

7. The Weight Loss Challenge (November 23) – During the fall, Sid and I decided to go outside our comfort zones and participate in a weight loss challenge sponsored by our gym. For six weeks we went on diets and pushed ourselves…almost to the point of insanity. This blog post traces our weight loss journey and the measures we took to be successful. In the end, we both lost weight and I even won the competition. I also come to grips with my previous unhealthy methods of dieting.

The Weight Loss Challenge proved to be successful for both of us.

6. They’re Here! (May 12) – I am not going to lie, it was hard going eight weeks without my wife and kids. I literally counted down the days until their arrival. Thus, you can imagine how ecstatic I was the afternoon they landed on Spokane soil. In this blog post I wrote about feeling whole again while also recognizing the surreality of it all. I described that first special weekend together while also being frank about the sadness of saying goodbye to Sid’s parents. It is a blog post of many different emotions and new beginnings!

It was so great to get my best friend back!

5. Until Next Time, Myrtle Beach (March 18) – I moved to South Carolina solely for a job at CCU. However, during my time out east, I received so much more than a paycheck. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the Grand Strand community and by that time I had fallen in love with a girl too. In this blog post I paid homage to what made Myrtle Beach so special. From my new family to my church to my gym to Sloan’s daycare, I wrote about how appreciative I was for the people and places that made such a positive influence on me during my time as a transplant.

Was so fortunate to become part of this great family during my time in Myrtle Beach.

4. Feeling Symmetrical (November 10) – Last month, Beau shed the corrective helmet he wore pretty much all day for three straight months. When his headgear was removed, he had a completely symmetrical head, a complete transformation from its shape in July. In this blog post I was able to show before/after photos, explain the intricacies of helmet therapy, describe the thrill of watching Beau progress, and reveal how the outside world reacted to a baby boy who wore a hard hat. It is kind of weird, it seems like forever ago that Beau had to wear his helmet but I am thankful for this blog post because it won’t let us forget the interesting challenge of correcting his misshaped head.

This was Beau’s last day in his helmet.

3. My Top 10 Favorite Moments Working for Coastal Carolina University (February 19) – During my nearly six years at Coastal Carolina University, I had the opportunity to do some really cool things. After I announced my departure from CCU, I remembered some of my defining moments as a Chanticleer. This post pretty much summarizes what a fun, diverse, and busy tenure I had in #TEALnation. This post allowed me to reflect quite a bit and I was happy to include so many of my former co-workers in it. I would write one final CCU wrap-up post but this countdown piece is my favorite.

I had some really good times working at CCU.

2. Pumped to be a Coug (March 1) – With pride and relief, I announced my new job via my blog on March 1. After keeping tight-lipped about the opportunity, it felt great to finally reveal that I had accepted a position at Washington State University. In the post I was also able to explain what I would be doing and why Sid and I decided to take the offer (so glad we did). As I re-read the post, the excitement that I wrote with brings me back to that entire crazy post-Beau’s birth/pre-pandemic period when we were preparing to move across the country. This post rates high for both significance and vividness that it is my runner up in 2020.

We took this photo for the “Pumped to be a Coug” blog post.

1. Beau Meets World (February 17) – This isn’t just my top post of 2020—it might be my top post in the history of this blog. I tried to be raw and thorough as I chronicled the emotional 11-day journey from the moment Sidney’s doctor decided to operate to the Sunday afternoon that Beau was released from the NICU at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, South Carolina.

The post is special to me because it displays Sid’s courage and Beau’s grit. It also conveys the important role that faith played throughout the saga. Tough setbacks are confronted and glorious triumphs are celebrated. It isn’t saying much because I consider myself a mere novice with the pen, but from a writing aspect I think this is one of my finer pieces. But even if most serious writers consider Beau Meets World to be garbage, it sure means a lot to Sid and I.

An 11-day journey of emotional twists and turns is chronicled in my top blog post of the year, “Beau Meets World.”

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Thank you to all my readers for supporting Don’t Blink throughout 2020. I can’t promise how productive I will be with my blog in 2021 but I do plan to write at least some. Tomorrow I will close out the year with my annual wrap up post and then I will be looking entirely forward to January 1. Thanks again. Don’t Blink.

My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2019
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2018
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2017
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2016
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2015
My Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014