Jennifer finished a year-long commitment to post one positive thing every day about Tacoma for an entire year (actually 361 days). It started in the wake of the shooting at Foss High School last year, when the comments on many web sites referred to Tacoma's less-than-desirable reputation. Jen decided to do something about it. And, now in retrospect, it's quite an accomplishment.

Now, Jen's blog and corresponding web site (tacomamama.com) is a robust local guide to great things in the Grit City - especially if you have kids. When I talked with Jen a few weeks ago, it was obvious that the commitment was taking its toll on her. I'm sure she's relieved that it's over.

Now that it's complete, I asked Jen (via email) if it was as difficult as I think it would be to make that kind of blogging commitment.

There were definitely times, especially during the Summer when I had six months behind me and six months ahead when I thought it was an insane idea, but I'm very glad that I did it. I've been able to take all that work and index it and turn it into a sort of city guide, and I've developed the habit of writing every day. Taking the time to actively think about one positive thing every day, on any subject, begins to change your way of thinking about the world. It's been wonderful to share my vision of Tacoma with other people, and discover other people who see it the same way. (There are some people around here who make me look like a pessimist!)

I also asked her if, now that it's over, she's glad she did it.

We had so much fun this summer exploring just about every playground in every corner of Tacoma, and learning that some of the greatest neighborhoods have some of the worst reputations. I can't wait until the weather improves so we can get back to the parks. My kids have had a great year. I think they'll always be people who aren't afraid to go out and do, and that makes me very happy.

Things I wouldn't do again? Try to please anyone else. When I wrote about the things that I loved (like food for example) readers followed, plus I get to do what I like!

There are also a few places I'd definitely not take kids to again. We had some "Bad Days in Tacoma," but usually they had more to do with testing our own limits than anything external. The only other negative was the cost. It's not cheap to do that much stuff without an expense account. Fun, but not cheap. I look at it this way, though: if it's stressful for us to come up with the money to do something, other families are probably in the same boat. I always have to look at everything in relation to how much it's worth, and that's an element that is missing from a lot of lifestyle features in traditional media. It's also something that most parents (actually most people) have to think about every day.

Nice work, Jen. You deserve a day off!