Can someone please explain to me how this is my last monthly blog post after nearly a full year in Kalamazoo? I can't believe time has flown so fast, but I'm not allowing myself to get sappy...just yet. (Wait for my year in review blog for that.) December was a whirlwind, especially with all of the holiday and farewell events with work and personal life. While there were serious moments this month with the presidential election recount and an emotional drunk driving sentencing, most of the month was lighthearted with holiday festivities. I'll be heading out of Kalamazoo in a few short days, but I've still got one more assignment for the paper next week, which should be a pretty good one. Stay tuned for a blog post on that in the new year! - CP Western Michigan University head coach P.J. Fleck holds up a piece of cotton during a bowl announcement watch party hosted by Western Michigan University at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016. Western Michigan will play Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 2, 2017. Sophie, 5, who did not give her last name, walks up a hill at Milham Park Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Kalamazoo and Portage schools were closed Monday following heavy snow from Winter Storm Caly. Santa Claus keeps count of Colton Ballard's, 4, wishes during the Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Department's 11th annual Candy Cane Hunt at Mayors' Riverfront Park in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. Hundreds of kids searched for nearly 5,000 candy canes on Homer Stryker Field. Mitchel Craddock holds his dog Brimmie outside his home in Vicksburg, Mich., on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Craddock and his friends, who rescued a litter of puppies during Craddock's bachelor party, put together a calendar with them and their dogs. Profits from the calendars will go to spaying and neutering the dogs and to support local shelters in Michigan and Tennessee near where the dogs were found. Linda Burnham-Rife organizes a stack of ballots during a recount of ballots regarding the Nov. 8 presidential election at the Kalamazoo Expo Center in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. Two people who asked not to be named go over procedures during a recount of ballots regarding the Nov. 8 presidential election at the Kalamazoo Expo Center in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. Van Buren County judges listen during an oath ceremony at Van Buren County Courthouse in Paw Paw, Mich., on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Fourteen recently-elected state and county officials were sworn in. Western Michigan University head coach P.J. Fleck wears a cotton pin as he speaks during a pre-bowl game press conference at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Western Michigan University plays Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 2, 2017. Morgan Rowley cries as Dan Heil, not pictured, the father of Nicholas Heil, who was killed by Rowley while she was driving while intoxicated, speaks about his son during a sentencing at the Kalamazoo County District Court in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. Rowley was sentenced to 10 to 20 years for operating a vehicle with a high blood-alcohol content causing death with a prior conviction and 8 to 15 years for failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing death. The two sentences will be served concurrently. Anna Weller, 3, and Audrey Hamilton, 10, sled down a hill at Milham Park Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Kalamazoo and Portage schools were closed Monday following heavy snow from Winter Storm Caly. Western Michigan University defensive lineman Keion Adams, quarterback Zach Terrell and head coach P.J. Fleck react to getting the news that they will be heading to the Cotton Bowl during a bowl announcement watch party hosted by Western Michigan University at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016. Western Michigan will play Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Western Michigan University cheerleaders practice at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. The cheerleaders will be attending the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, to cheer on Western Michigan University in the game on January 2, 2017. Joe, 7, who did not give his last name, walks up a hill at Milham Park Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Kalamazoo and Portage schools were closed Monday following heavy snow from Winter Storm Caly. Paw Paw High School's Choir Voices of the Future perform during an oath ceremony at Van Buren County Courthouse in Paw Paw, Mich., on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Fourteen recently-elected state and county officials were sworn in.