Today is the start of the second week of December.

My grandfather mentioned on the phone last night that we're heading towards the shortest day of the year. It would feel like it except I have been hibernating with a few good blogs - and barely notice how short the days have gotten (ok, I notice, but I'm focusing on you right now). He also told me that his mom doesn't recognize his voice on the phone anymore. And that reminded me why we blog - we blog because someday, maybe sooner than we think, we won't remember 2009 anymore.

A status update from #best09 HQ

In case your wondering, HQ is a one-woman shop run in Boulder, Colorado. The view from the window is of snow-covered mountains. Nobody is snowboarding in the parking lot nearby, but I think it's just a matter of time. The tea of the day is Rishi Pu-erh. I think it deserves a double steep.

On to the news...

Our numbers are growing. There are nearly 500 of us participating in the challenge. And if you tell a friend today, that number will double. And then we'll have even more blog posts to enjoy! So far we have shared our favorite:

-trip

-restaurant moment

-article

-book

-night out

-workshop/conference

What you think about #best09

Its the end of the first week of this blogging challenge and I can't believe how much great writing I continue to find. Its inspiring. I'm happy to have the chance to share three of the blogs I'm always grateful to read. - @Kate_TW 

Just loving #best09 - so fun! - @bostonmamas

where have i been?? i'm coming a little late to this but I LOVE it! great idea @gwenbell ! #best09 - @traceyclark

This challenge has been so helpful for me already, and it has just been 5 days! Thank you so much for encouraging me to reflect on my year. I'm usually so busy at this time of year that reflection doesn't happen until New Years Eve! I'm learning so much from reading the reflections of others. There are some incredible people out there!!! - @sticksandstring

I like being in the habit of blogging every day. I could get used to this. Thanks to #best09[...]for the motivation to try. - @secondmercedes

Are you reading my posts?

With nearly 1,500 tweets coming in this week alone (an average of 204.9 a day), I'm reading, tweeting, updating the Twitter list and Delicious'ing links as fast as I can. While still maintaining my daily sitting practice, doing my year in review and taking time to breathe and eat.

(Speaking of Delicious. There have been questions about what Delicious is all about. If you don't have an account you can get one for free. Delicious is bookmarks gone wild. You can access your bookmarks from any computer, tag them, share them, you get the picture. It's how I'm organizing the posts I read - by topic each day.)

A friend launched her blog last week on her birthday. At her birthday party she asked if I expected this many people to get involved with the challenge. I said I was banking on a few dozen. Not several hundred. But that this time of year is notoriously difficult for me emotionally and I figured it might help us out if we share what went well this year. Rather than thinking about what didn't go well (although, the year in review that I did this weekend will give you a chance to consider both) or sliding into an EOY slump.

While I'm not able to read every post due to the volume, I am passing on as many as I can via Twitter/Delicious. And if a post is brought to my attention, I read it. I don't skim. I have never been a skimmer. Which is why I became a simul-reader. Next year, I may hire a team of elves and reindeer to help me carry the load. (Please avoid visualizing me with a round belly and a white beard. The one white chin hair I'm cultivating is quite enough, thank you.)

Who won the Bryce Widom?

You took a swim in an air tunnel with your son. Even though you felt like you were drowning, you went in and did it again. You remind me of the guy in the movie I watched last night, Man on Wire. You're living life at its edges and you know that's where the good stuff happens. As it turns out, you're also a damn fine storyteller.

And I believe you and Bryce have some catching up to do.

A final question

I usually call my mom a couple times a week on the way into work, just for the typical catch up and general conversation. I've a very small and immediate family, the sort that can be a bit whacked out and hard on each other, but foundationally it's because we love each other so intensely. This love of course is one that is typically unspoken.

It was this book, and this passage in particular that really caused me to evaluate the familial status quo. And for that matter any sincere expression of love within any of my very close relationships. If it's there, and it's true, why let it go unspoken "just because"? - Michael Wong on his #best09 Book of the Year

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