My 2021 in 1 minute

This is Daily Dadspeak—daily reflections on becoming a dad, while still growing up myself. You can find the full mini-pod audio list here.

Last year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, narrated the first two years of her government in two minutes. It was awesome. And I was inspired to do the same. So I flipped through 10,000 photos and a daily journal and this is what I found—my year in one minute, starting now:

We toasted in the new year in Barcelona with my wife’s family. My two boys started riding their new bikes through the streets of Barcelona for the first time. I got COVID and lost my sense of taste and a lot of energy. Both came back.

We visited a few new Mediterranean beaches along Catalunya’s Costa Brava. On a walk in the woods, we discovered an abandon house with a crooked door once owned by Salvador Dalí.

I went on my first 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat.

We moved our family to the US for a new experience. My kids started attending school in the US, and for the first time in English.

We’ve driven over 7,000 miles through 18 US states, from Grand Canyon to New York City and Washington DC. Two weeks of that were in an RV. Along the way we’ve visited 8 National Parks.

My kids turned 11 and 9, one in Barcelona, one in Indiana. And my wife and I celebrated our 15-year anniversary.

At work, I hired 4 wonderful people into my team, as my company grew nearly 100 people. Then I began a sabbatical from work to recharge and reflect.

I’ve spent time with over 60 family members.

I ran over 900 kilometers, including a half-marathon and 5k races. My kids did their first 1-mile and 5k runs too. I’ve done 8,770 pushups. I’ve slept 2,774 hours.

I started doing these 60-second audio reflections, and I published over 50 articles and mini-podcasts on this website, Looking out Loud.

And that’s it. My year in one minute.

Enjoy this? Share it with someone else who will too:

← Back to the full list of Dadspeak