Most of us have to work.  Those of us who are lucky have jobs that we enjoy, and some of us are fortunate to pursue life-long passions and fulfill dreams they had when they were younger.  I include myself in that group.

And then there are people who do things for a living that allow them to escape from reality by throwing themselves into their work. 

I don't know how many people are that lucky, but I am.

There were times this past year when one of the only things getting me out of bed in the morning was the chance to escape reality for a while and do radio shows, write blogs, or agitate people on Twitter.  2012 was a year where I often had to take refuge in what I was doing professionally to get away from what was going on personally.

I won't bore you with details, and I've emerged from this year a smarter, more mature (sorta), more thoughtful person, with new perspectives on life, family, friends, and the things that are truly important. 

I'm grateful to have some incredible people in my life. I tested them as much as 2012 tested me.

And I'm thankful to have a job that's often helped me maintain sanity while providing enjoyment, even when life wasn't so enjoyable. 

I wouldn't have it without people who listen to our radio show, read this blog, or follow me on Twitter. 

People in our business don't say "thank you" enough, either to the folks they work with or to the audiences who make our jobs possible.

Today seems like an appropriate time for me to so.

During a difficult year, especially during the summer months, what often kept me going was being able to come to work and talk about the Reds, or make fun of something else happening in sports.  What re-energized me during some tough times was being able to channel emotions into blog posts that at times probably only made sense to me.  The blog took on a different feel this year, and while that wasn't entirely done on purpose,  I can see when I look back that it occasionally reflected what was going on with me as I was working on it. 

And there were times when goofing off on Twitter became a valuable, if often silly, distraction.

I couldn't do a radio show without listeners.  I couldn't blog without readers.  And it wouldn't be as much fun distracting myself without followers.

You may be one of those things.  You may be all three.  You may be a listener to checks in here and there, and you may be someone who sits through the entire show every day.  You may think that my opinions reflect total idiocy, you might only read the blog to kill time sorting through the daily array of grammatical errors, and you might follow  on Twitter just so you can laugh at my ignorance.

Either way, you're an audience, and we can't do our jobs without you.

And I'm not sure I could have made it through 2012 without you.

Thanks for giving me an audience.

Merry Christmas. 

Here's to a fun 2013. 

And here's the only Christmas song that matters.