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Heres hoping for a 2016 free of last-minute interceptions
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I'm hoping that 2016 is way better than 2015. I believe that we will win. - photo by Steve Eaton
I am still hoping that the best of 2015 is yet to come.

My best day of the year, so far, was Oct. 16. That day, my wife and I were celebrating my birthday even though it wasnt really my birthday. We do birthday weekends and birthday weeks. Unlike some old people who dont want to admit another year has passed, we ignore that part of the equation and focus instead on the joy of sleeping in and eating pizza. That day included Stromboli pizza from The Pie Pizzeria and a trip to a real college football game where the good guys won. A friend had given us the kind of tickets that were so close to the field that you could see the numbers on the uniforms.

Oct. 16 was nearly beat out by Dec. 2, the day that I got offered a full-time job working with some really great people. Its the kind of position that requires you to wear big-boy pants and includes an office, benefits and actual paychecks. That days efforts to come out on top were hindered by the fact that half of the day was spent preparing for a job interview, which was more stressful than having a dentist with hiccups, dressed as a clown, doing a root-canal on you during an earthquake. Im sure you can all relate to that.

Im still hoping that there is a day or two before Jan. 1 that could still take the top spot as best day of the year. By a show of hands, who remembers Christmas of 2015? This column should appear on the day after Christmas, and for those of you in the future, Christmas now seems like it was years ago, doesnt it? Why is that? In my world, it is still coming and Im looking forward to it.

I rank my days. I write a little paragraph about what happened that day and slot it in the lineup. If you read my ranked days from bottom to top, 2015 was a story that started very sad and ended up with celebrations, pizza, a football win and new pants.

Even though we didnt have TV for much of the year, football still managed to influence rankings quite a bit. Our television was still working on Feb. 1, for example, and the recording of a last-second intercepted Seahawks pass seriously hurt that days prospects, dropping it to where it is now at No. 64. Some self-help experts will tell you that no one can make you feel bad. Clearly thats wrong because everyone knows an intercepted pass can indeed make you feel awful.

There were worse things than wayward footballs in 2015, and I think, overall, that if I had known what was coming, I would have skipped the year. And while I dont often see the world, short-term, through rose-colored glasses, I do when it comes to looking to a new year. I truly believe that I will become a buff, fit person in 2016 who will have to buy all new clothes and will look happy enough to appear in a drug commercial. We also have our first two grandkids coming. Im hoping that at least one of them will be able to mow the lawn for me before the end of the summer. Things will be better in 2016.

Im one of the only people I know who looks forward to setting goals and making resolutions. To not do so, to me, is like starting a chant before a football game that says, I believe that we will lose. Thats not the way I like to approach life or football.

I believe the best days of 2016 are yet to come. Im planning on it. I hope the Seahawks are too.