One kind word can warm three winter months. - Japanese Proverb

Tonight is the Winter Solstice.

We're all experiencing the shortest day of the year. But I haven't felt lonely the way I have in winters past. I have felt energized, motivated and reflective. So motivated, in fact, that I've written thirty-three blog posts this month.

We're just a few folks shy of 700 participants signed up for The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. (You can jump in at any time.) This month I've read thousands of tweets and hundreds of blog posts related to the challenge. You've inspired me as the year has come to a close: I can't thank you enough.

So this then, no surprise, has been the best challenge for me this year. These are the prompts we've written about so far: 

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?(+ TripIt Pro Giveaway)

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies? (+ Bryce Widom Giveaway)

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night? 

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you? (+ Mondo Beyondo Giveaway)

December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

December 12 New food. You're now in love with Lebanese food and you didn't even know what it was in January of this year.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?

December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What's yours?

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."

December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year? (+ Room 6 'Keep Calm & Carry On' giveaway)

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

I'm proud to be creating this year end project with you.

Some of you have shared the passwords to your password-protected entries with me. You trust me with bits of your lives that you aren't ready to make public. I'm honored by your trust.

Some of you have kept a journal offline and emailed to let me know how your world is opening up with the year end reflection you're doing.

Many of you have commented and messaged each other to share the ways in which 2009 is serving as a launch pad for 2010.

One #best09 participant, Sara, shared this on her blog:

One week into January, and 2009 had already become “the year I got really sick.” A surgery and two insurance deductibles later, I’ve recovered from some ailments and developed new ones. The chain of events set into motion that month led to a year where I became a virtual hermit, too broke and too sick to do much of anything or to go anywhere. Staying quiet, staying home, just trying to stay afloat.