And so

This is my last ever Blip. Not a phrase I expected to say right now - or ever, really - but it appears to be unavoidable. Five Things as a whole - all 800 or so days of it, 4000 or so things of it - is one of the most precious things I have ever created.

I started Five Things because I felt my life was rushing by, often unrecorded. I kept going with Five Things, because it seemed to help me understand myself, chart this amazing journey I am in the middle of - both personally and professionally - and learn more and more day by day. It became a vital part of my life because my own words and images began to give me a previously unknown insight and a passion for life - my own life.

There is something truly wonderful about taking the time each day to find the good things, the special things, the unique things in everyday life. I probably won't be able to describe the true effect that has had on me, but I do know that it has been profound and I suspect, lifelong.

Five Things has shown me what beautiful friendships I have - a bunch of the finest people on the planet are pals with me and the thrill of that takes my breath away. It tells me almost every day how lucky I am to have a partner who lights me up, challenges me, drives me crazy, makes me hoot with laughter and fills my life with love. It shows the smiling faces of a family that is so nuclear it glows and it connects me with my Dad in a way I didn't know could be possible.

Today, on the anniversary of his death (and sporting his hat in this photo), that seems to mean so much more. Being connected to a man who can inspire me, even when he is no longer here, and noticing just how much of his strength, his talent and his humour I have brought to my life is something just simply beyond words.

Five Things has also revealed how much I love what I do for a living and how lucky I am to feel that way about what I do. It lets me reflect on success, respond to the hard stuff and learn. Always learn.

And on that note, now is probably the time to say that Five Things, of course, contains only my own views and is nothing whatsoever, at all, in any way, anything at all to do with the Company I work for. But you knew that, didn't you? You are Blippers after all - the brightest and best bloggers on the block.

And so

1. So long
2. Cheerio
3. Take it easy
4. Farewell
5. Goodbye.