Ah, the end of December, when the MSM starts using some secret, unquantifiable formula to determine the Top Ten this and that.

You know what I mean: Top Ten News Stories of the Year. Top Ten Celebrity Gaffs. Top Ten Weight-loss Programs. Top Ten You Name It.

So, here's a challenge to Olybloggers!

Instead of ranking events, can you tell the rest of us what thing, or things, changed your life in the past year? Good, or bad, what was a defining moment for you in 2007.

It can be personal, it can be community-related, it can be whatever you want it to be.

And, I'm asking folks to refrain from sass-back (in other words, please be respectful of others thoughts). This is a chance for all of us to relate what has been important in the past year, without passing judgment on what has been important to others. I

'll start:

Camp Quixote. You've seen in another post that the Camp has been nominated for Person of the Year. I concur with this nomination. What an amazing bunch of folks!

The camp has changed my life and certainly some notions I had about homelessness and homeless people. I have watched it move from its difficult birth downtown where it was the target of community misunderstanding and scorn, into an accepted part of our big-hearted community. Getting to know the residents; the people who support the camp in large and small ways; and working with the faith communities that have stepped forward, sometimes with few resources, to host the camp or be present to it in other ways, has been eye-opening and delightful.

When I wake up in the morning to radio waves full of news of the war and other deep despair, I can step back for a moment and find great hope in this emerging community that is seeking nothing more than to live in safety and with dignity. I've been with people as they've kicked addictions; found jobs and housing; laughed and loved; bickered; and cried and celebrated. We've had a wedding, a couple of birthday parties, regularly broken bread together; and shared, at least for me, an unmatched building of community in trying (and now very wet and cold) circumstances.

Blessings to the Camp, which has richly blessed me!

Blog on with your own thoughts about your year!