I hope everyone had a year filled with love and joy. We certainly have much to be thankful for this year, that is, except for brain cancer. That part sucked. #notblessed. But besides that, however, everything else was really good. And nobody else went to the emergency room or was diagnosed with a terminal illness. #blessed.

We had a very productive year on social media. We had way more ‘likes’ compared to previous years. Cancer works wonders for ‘likes.’ Who doesn’t like something terrible (for somebody else)? We have been able to carefully cultivate a very satisfactory and wholesome image on Facebook.

We started the year staying around Grand Rapids because I had chemotherapy and radiation every day. That didn’t suck that bad because radiation only took about 10 minutes, and I had the rest of the day free for to watch movies and sleep. But then I went back to work part time, so that prolonged vacation ended.

I was voted West Michigan Heart Physician of the Year (POTY) in 2014, and then BAM!, cancer hit in late 2015. Our group had officially joined Spectrum in early 2015, so I won the equivalent FMHVI Clinical Excellence Award late last year. 2016 is still up in the air, but I can see trends. The people want change. Drain the swamp. “Lock him up,” they say for sending patient information over Gmail in 2010. I get it. I am yesterday’s story.

Allison had a marvelous year. She was a safety for Ella’s kindergarten class, and all the Alguires agreed she was the best safety at Breton Downs Elementary.  Her swimming went well, almost qualifying for state in several events in the spring, and actually qualifying in the summer. These state cuts are pretty ridiculous, so that felt like a pretty big accomplishment. I certainly was not that fast in 6th grade.

Connor is the only boy, so his achievements are always blown out of proportion. He can watch his iPad for hours at a time, never being distracted by family life around him. I think he is going to do very well without a father #adaptable. He continues to play soccer with a skill set that his dad never had. I can still beat him in one on one sports based on pure size, but it is getting closer.

Queen Elizabeth graces us with her presence at times. She is too sweet to be an effective queen, but she does have her devious streak that I’m cultivating. She cannot win direct battles against her brother, but she is figuring out how to play around the rules when nobody is watching. Good for you.

Mia had a big year of change. Over the year, she left her crib, learned to scooter pretty fast, ride a bike with training wheels, and started preschool. She also threw out her pacifiers and handled it pretty well. We offered to get her a Daniel Tiger stuffed animal if she threw out her pacies, and 2 minutes later they were all in the garbage. Deal sealed, although we are still finding extra in odd places.

Miley had a rough year as well. She totally hit a wall in the Doggie Dash in early June, and tore her ACL in August. The vet gave the option of surgery or rest. Both are considered equivalent, so we chose rest since it costs much less. She is still hobbling around a bit, and this year really felt like she aged those 7 dog years.

For Staci and me, things could not be better. The kids help, our long-term relationship helps.  She is the glue in the family, and Team Craig’s actual captain.  She got the “Alguire of the Year” award in our house for the 15th straight year.  We rarely even talk about old girlfriends or boyfriends anymore. We do talk about future options for her, and I really try to talk her up around some of my male friends. I have given her a short list of my potential replacements that I approve of, but I will not share here. Most of them are still married, but a lot of things can change in a year.

We ring in 2017 with only one resolution, Alive in 2018!

Figure: Self-explanatory.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!