Happy Birthday, Dearborn Patch!

On Dec. 20, 2010, I held my breath.

Two months of effort—shaking hands, throwing business cards at every person I saw, learning the issues and beginning to write about them—was about to culminate in one moment.

And as I was out taking photos for Dearborn's annual Shop With a Cop/Firefighter, I got the call: "We're live!"

It has been exactly two years today that Dearborn Patch came into existence. I, for one, can't believe it has only been that long. Between running to report on a fire and sitting through more City Council meetings than I'd care to admit, I've also grown to know (and love) a lot of faces around town.

I've moved back to my hometown, I've learned a lot about what makes Dearborn tick, and I still love this city and its 98,000 residents as much as ever.

Here's a look back at two years of Dearborn Patch:

• We've published 4,209 articles (give or take) on everything from sports and schools to crime and courts, plus a few articles about government. OK, more than a few.
• A total of 343 blogs have been posted on our site.
• Readers have posted more than 500 announcements, plus thousands of events and tens of thousands of comments. Phew.
• We've covered Terry Jones' visits to Dearborn ... too many times. Hopefully never again.

More important than numbers, though, I have to say I've most enjoyed writing about Dearborn students doing amazing things for their communities; helping adopt out animals at the Dearborn Animal Shelter; running in the Martian Marathon; helping readers learn about how they can use Patch to promote their garage sale or fundraiser; sitting though, in Mayor Jack O'Reilly's jesting words, "more budget meetings than the council members."

In a nutshell, I have loved living Dearborn 24/7. And I hope to continue to do it for many years to come.

Most of you probably didn't read Dearborn Patch on Day One, but that's OK. You're here now, and I'm so grateful for it.

Thank you!