If you had asked me on the first of June, 2012, what Benjamin would look like standing in front of the construction walls surrounding the permanently-shuttered Snow White's Scary Adventures, I never would have imagined the answer would be this:

Needless to say, 2012 was a truly remarkable year for our family. Just a few days before the start of the year, Benjamin legally became an adult. The first several months of the year were spent in the oftentimes frustrating process of placing Ben under Guardianship. In those months we learned quite a bit about the quality (or lack thereof) of different lawyers, and it frequently felt like Ben would never get his day in court. Thankfully with the assistance of Frank Nisi of the Nisi Law Firm in Maitland, FL, Ben's mother was finally legally appointed as Benjamin's Guardian Advocate and we were all able to breathe a sigh of relief.

And of course, it was not long after that when we experienced that remarkable night at the closure of Snow White's Scary Adventures. It was a day that we all dreaded, and yet it turned into such a communal celebration of joy that I will never forget it. In each person's life there are only a handful of truly Big Moments, those fleeting instants that you wish you could cast in amber and treasure for ever. The birth of a child. The achievement of a lifelong goal. Emotional highs that you know will never be equaled, and treasure all the more because of it. For me, the night of May 31st, 2012 ranks very near the top of my list of Big Moments in my life.

In the fall of 2012, after years of saying that I was going to write a book someday, I finally actually finished writing that book. And I have to say, I am very pleased with it. Even if it never goes anywhere, it is a personal accomplishment of which I am very proud. But oh, I do expect it to go somewhere. In the past few weeks I have begun receiving reviews from the advance copies, and they have all been very gratifying. The story of my son, and his entire Snow White experience, is a tale that is obviously very near and dear to my heart. I am beyond thrilled that this spring I will be able to share it with the world.

And finally, in the winter of 2012 my wife and I made our very first trip to Great Britain and we had an absolutely wonderful time. It took darn near forty-five years, but I can finally say that I have been to another continent and have seen buildings that are more than just a century or two old. I have tasted the mineral waters of the Aquae Sulis, the Roman baths dating from the first century AD that give the city of Bath its name. I have stood upon the battlements of Edinburgh Castle, I have stood in the room where Shakespeare was born, and more trivially I have stood on top of the secret entrance to Torchwood in Cardiff Bay. For eleven days my wife and I had the romantic getaway of a lifetime, and it was exceedingly good.

And as for Benjamin, from that tremendous high on the closing night of SWSA and through the long miserable days that followed when he finally began to understand that his ride was really gone forever, he has finally come through the other side and reached a point where he can actually stand in front of The Graveyard of Snow White's Scary Adventures and genuinely laugh with joy at a fun day in the Magic Kingdom without shedding a tear for what is lost. Seeing that smile, hearing that laugh, it's the thing that motivates me every single day.