Monthly Archives: January 2025

A New Record! Sloan Reads 600 Books

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Did you know the men and women who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier space their uniform medals at 1/64th of an inch? I didn’t either. Of course, I didn’t know a lot of things before reading 600 books with Sloan in 2024.

Sloan holds “Twenty-One Steps,” the 600th book she read in 2024. She read this book to Beau and me at the Spokane Public Library – Central.

On December 27, 2024, Sloan read her brother and me Twenty-One Steps at the Spokane Public Library – Central to reach her goal. The book, which explained the origin and significance of the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, was the culminating story in a year dominated by reading.

Beau reads to Beau her 600th book at the Spokane Public Library – Central

After reading 500 books in 2022 and 500 books in 2023, Sloan became a little brazen at the beginning of 2024. Caught up in the excitement of New Year’s resolutions, Sloan wrote a goal at school to read 600 books during the year. Okay girl, I said, I am going to hold you to it.

And I did 😂.

Sloan made the New Year’s resolution to read 600 books early on in 2024.

What is just an additional 100 books in a year, you ask? Believe it or not, it does increase the nightly reading output more than you think. A few times throughout the course of the year, Sloan had bouts with reading fatigue but for the most part she was committed to reaching the big 6-0-0.

Sloan holds up a couple books she read at Spokane Valley County Library in February 2024.

The lofty goal helped cover her nightly reading homework, scored her Silverwood passes, and continued to improve her reading skills. It also taught her (and me) a lot. In 2024, we transitioned to books that fit her level better. Mature themes (death, divorce, disease, etc.), biographies, historical events, relationships, processes, nature, religion, and culture were all subject matter we consumed over the year. But don’t worry, we had Curious George and Pete the Cat thrown in there as well 😉.

Sloan points to a book she read at the Argonne County Library during the summer of 2024.

We managed the goal like we had in the past. Most of our reading material came from Spokane County Library locations where we would make bi-weekly visits to stock up. We read mostly at night during our infamous Books and Prayers period. We logged the books in the Notes app on my phone. At this point in Sloan’s reading odyssey, everything was pretty routine. However, despite the solid structure, the reading itself still needed to be done. And let me tell you in no uncertain terms: Sloan did the reading.

We logged our books in the Notes app of my phone.

However, things will change in 2025. Sloan and I won’t have a standing nightly date to read books shoulder-to-shoulder together anymore. Instead, she will be released to read independently on her own. She already does this but not with the consistency and structure that will guide the activity this year. My daughter enjoys chapter books—especially the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series—and it is time to allow her to grow with more challenging literature.

The books Sloan is holding here in a photo from early 2024 at Spokane Valley County Library, are now being replaced with books that more accurately reflect Sloan’s reading level.

But don’t worry, ol’ dad won’t be shedding any tears as he is left on the couch without his daughter. Beau will be taking his sister’s spot. In fact, he already has. Well, not her physical spot, but he has joined us for books over the past couple years. However, his undivided attention will be emphasized a bit more this year. I am excited to see the same growth from him that Sloan exhibited during the early years of our reading program.

Keep reading in 2025, friends! If you ever have any book suggestions for Sloan or Beau, please don’t hesitate to send them my way. Don’t Blink.

Oops We Did It Again: Our 2024 #1SE Video

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE 2024 RESER FAMILY #1SE VIDEO

After you commit to something wholeheartedly on a daily basis over the course of a year, there is a tendency to step back the following year and take a break. After completing the 1 Second Everyday project in 2023, I debated with Sidney about whether I would embark on a second version in 2024.

However, the fruits from my inaugural #1SE year—especially the special moments of debuting the final project to friends and family on Dec. 31—proved too sweet to pass up in 2024. Thus, I made the decision to once again go all-in with #1SE.

It didn’t disappoint.

This is the thumbnail for our 2024 #1SE video.

With a year under my belt, my 2024 project was a little easier than my rookie year. I knew what I was doing, I had learned hacks within the app, and I didn’t put as much stress on myself as I did in 2023. By the time I did it for the second time, the whole process of capturing a one-second video each day seemed much more natural. Basically, it had been ingrained into my daily routine.

But could this second video ever compare to our first one? After all, I mentioned in my year-in-review blog post that my family didn’t do too much in 2024. We stayed in Washington pretty much the whole year. Did that make our #1SE video inferior and boring?

Well, perhaps to you. But for Sidney and me? Hardly.

I highly recommend creating a video using the I Second Everyday app.

The art of a #1SE video isn’t necessarily about exotic sunsets and selfies with Mickey Mouse. Our video turned out just fine with a Spokane rainbow and a Chuck E. Cheese high five 😂. But in all seriousness, #1SE videos can be successful simply if they are mundane yet authentic; basic yet reflective.

Birthdays. Ball games. Baptisms. Board games. Books.

Dances. Dentist visits. Dining out. Diving in the pool. Dressing up.

Family. Festivals. Fair. Faith. Friends.

These ordinary events and things are what filled up our 2024 #1SE. Like I said, nothing too spectacular; nothing too jaw dropping. But when strung together, they tell a story—the Reser family story. And to me, that’s beautiful (but perhaps I am biased).

Like last year, we debuted our video “on the big screen” to those closest to us. My parents watched our 2024 #1SE video on their television and Sidney’s parents got to watch it with Beau and Sloan on theirs. To see my mom and dad tear up for the second straight year as the days flew by on the screen is always touching.

My mom and dad watch the debut of our 2024 #1SE video.

Besides giving my children a piece of media they will always cherish, it is the emotional effect that these videos have on people that make me want to keep doing them. The final product is always just so pure, so genuine, so rewarding.

Which brings me to my last appeal of this post. Just like Jennifer inspired me to do my own #1SE, perhaps I can inspire you to do your own. If you are at all considering doing a 1-Second Everyday video…DO IT!! Trust me, you won’t regret it. Doing a project such as this helps you to appreciate the little things and it allows you to give a gift to your family at the end of the year that is priceless.

This is the ending “day” of our 2024 #1SE video. What a joy it was to make it. I encourage you to join me in making your own #1SE video in 2025.

If you need any extra motivation or have any questions before starting your own #1SE video, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. It is only January 3, you can easily jump on board today and be well on your way to creating something special. Thanks for your interest in the 2024 Reser Family #ISE video and I hope to include your face in our 2025 version. Don’t Blink.

Still Alive in 2025

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Okay guys, this 2025 business is hitting me hard. Yesterday marked a quarter century since I woke up in my bed and realized we all weren’t doomed. Although I had a pretty good idea that Y2K wasn’t going to be the end of us, all the propaganda surrounding the year 2000 proved a lot for an impressionable 13-year-old.

Perhaps an even bigger slap in the face is that if you do the math, 2025 is TWENTY YEARS after 2005 (aka my high school graduation year). It has now been two full decades since I walked across the Spokane Arena stage as a fresh Mead High School graduate.

Ready or not, 2025 is here!

News flash: While I am still very much a Mead High School graduate, I am most definitely not “fresh” anymore.

So, basically, the theme that is prevalent to me as a new year begins is that I am old.

But believe it or not, that is fine with me!

You see, I usually feel a lot of pressure at the beginning of the year. New Year’s resolutions, goals, and the desire to thrive all get into my head. However, as we begin 2025, I don’t seem to be balancing that weight on my shoulders this time around.

Perhaps I am just losing my ambition and drive. However, I like to think that the real reason is that I feel set up for success in 2025. I took a big leap in my career last year and I feel really good with where I am at. Our family is in a solid spot and some promising developments should hit early this month. A lot of opportunities for us to help others and ourselves from a faith-perspective await over the next 52 weeks. So, sorry not sorry, but I didn’t spend Tuesday night, a holiday I find depressing, wallowing in the dumps.

Of course by saying all this, I know I am setting myself up for a year that is anything but successful. Oh well, just trying to be honest. Even if 2025 falls short of my expectations and turns out to be the worst year ever, at least I am well-equipped to handle it. With a supportive wife, loyal friends, and Jesus walking by my side, I will handle surprises the best I can. And like what happened to a man I respected greatly at the end of 2024, terrible surprises do happen.

But again, I am optimistic and excited for 2025. For one, I didn’t spend yesterday vomiting into a toilet like I did on New Year’s Day in 2024. Even though I know that a year is a marathon, not a sprint—and, like last year, even a bad start to a year can’t sabotage the ensuing 364 days (and vice versa)—I am hopeful.

And I hope you are too. Have a blessed 2025. Don’t Blink.

Travis Overton: A Kind and Selfless Leader

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Last night while scrolling social media, a former co-worker of mine at Coastal Carolina University posted a photo of another former CCU colleague with the caption of “love you.” My lack of awareness got the best of me as I just thought it was a silly post commemorating a New Year’s Eve party they were both at. About 15 minutes later, I picked up my phone again and did another scroll. This time I saw photo after photo of this particular colleague from other former co-workers. The shock and sadness hit me hard that Travis Overton had died.

I arrived at Coastal Carolina University in May 2014 and it didn’t take long for me to meet Travis. In fact, we worked closely together. In his capacity as dean of students, he had mastered the microblogging trend of social media that was prevalent at the time. I had the privilege of collaborating with him and other CCU legends such as Jeff Stone and April Betsch as we formed a social media working group to better serve our students. It was a special time to be a Chant as the institution went through an incredible rise unlike one I have ever seen in higher education.

Travis Overton was a special person. This photo is a screenshot from the 2016 holiday video. I was pretty surprised that I didn’t have an actual photo with Travis but you can spot me in the background trying to do a “dance move” in the teal hoodie.

Travis went the same way as CCU during this time: UP. Although he always held a higher position than me from the moment I stepped on campus, Travis had a spectacular ascension into senior administration at Coastal during the middle of my tenure at the university. His talent, work ethic, and charisma were too much for university leaders to overlook. Rightfully, he kept climbing the ladder and served CCU in some very key administrative positions.

By the time I was ready to move on from CCU, Travis was many pay grades ahead of me. However, he never let that gap change the way he treated me. By the time I left Coastal at the beginning of 2020, he still engaged with me the same way he did when we were sitting side-by-side strategizing the Yik Yak takeover we organized in October 2014. There was no ego.

This blurry photo is taken from video (sorry!) so I apologize for the bad quality. But it shows one of our social media meetings from 2014 with Travis seated in the corner. Before Travis entered senior administration, I worked with him a lot.

Speaking of my departure from Coastal, it was at this time that Travis helped me in a way that I will never forget. This brief story I am about to relate is another classic example of what made Travis Overton so respected and beloved.

As happens occasionally in higher ed, bad hires are sometimes made. In 2019, a new vice president for marketing and communications arrived at CCU. Despite high hopes, this particular person made our jobs and lives difficult. When I submitted my resignation to go work for Washington State University, Travis, who oversaw our department, told me to come to him if our department leader gave me any additional grief in the few weeks I had remaining at CCU.

I made it a priority to not reach out to Travis. I didn’t want to bother him with any of my problems as he had much more important university matters to deal with. I held true to this personal pledge as long as I could until a life event occurred…

My wife gave birth prematurely in early February 2020. Beau was sent to the NICU. I was making trips back-and-forth to Florence from Myrtle Beach to be with him. It was one of the scariest and most stressful times of my life. During this period, I needed my department’s approval on something that would make a major difference in my transition from a CCU employee to a non-CCU employee (specific details not important for the story). This approval, which would also help me better communicate to my family out west about Beau’s condition, was withheld. I was basically being played with. 

Despondent and at my wits’ end, I reached out to Travis. He first responded with compassion and empathy. He wanted to know how we were all doing and told me not to worry about the CCU issue. Travis said he would take care of it.

By the time I arrived home to Myrtle Beach that night, I had an email in my inbox stating that I had received approval for my request. An awful ordeal that was causing mounting stress was instantly resolved. Travis’ quick action meant the world to me. I sent a text of appreciation to Travis and he responded in the most humble way.

This was the text Travis sent me after I thanked him for coming to my aid during a very vulnerable time.

My respect for Travis was already permanent, but the way he came to my aid during my most vulnerable time elevated him to a forever special spot in my heart. Even in death, that spot is still reserved for an incredible human being. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Travis Overton. Don’t Blink.