All of the glorious happenings of Christmas are over. Now we all get to relax for a few days — at least I hope I will be able to sit down with my newspaper and a cup of coffee and leisurely read through the week’s news.

So, on the last day of the year, it has been my custom to review the columns of the year in Life in La Grange Park. This year, we had a woman who likened herself to a cicada (Nancy Pipal with a career evolution every 17 years); the students at Lyons Township High School going to visit with the residents of Plymouth Place as part of a class, and both sides finding the experience touching; we learned about La Leche League and the toastmasters group at the La Grange Park Public Library; will Phil and Carolyn Bowers ever really retire? We had a look into the World of Wheels via the Scott Jobb family; the residents of the area continue to enjoy and support the farmers market; we learned that you really can float down the Salt Creek on an inflatable raft with Lynn Benz’s experience; local businessman Chris Zurowski contributed to ESPN magazine while we were still watching baseball in September; local college graduate Matt Mattucci has a shot at interning at the World’s Greatest Newspaper radio station; the Nettie J. McKinnon collection continues to enrich the students and the people in our community; garden clubs abound even in cold weather; we learned that we all have to “get with it” (lol) with our texting; Grampa’s Store has delectable offerings in homemade cakes and baked goods; the crossing guards keep our children safe; we had a page in the best Chicago area decorations book (Tangney’s on Kensington and Ogden); and finally, I was delighted to learn that even though I had purchased an ornament made in China, it was the original design of local residents Carol King and Paula Butell.

We also saw the passing of the ever-present and much-loved patriarch of the DeVries family — Dick DeVries.

But the biggest response I had this year was about the bat in our bedroom. Certainly it was a harrowing experience for me, and even though my husband tells me that “twice in 30 years” is not bad insofar as a bat visitor, I figure that once is one time too many. Nonetheless, I was surprised at the number of people who told me their bat stories.

Maureen Hernandez and family of La Grange Park were visiting in Wisconsin and stayed in a friend’s home, which was under construction. The kids, Matt, Keith and Jill, were all younger than 7 and Maureen woke up to a bat swooping near the ceiling. She threw a blanket over the porta-crib and didn’t sleep a wink.

Mary Cordell tells of a party she had when her girls were about 2 years old. The guests happily left their home at about 1 a.m.; her husband had gone up to bed and Mary decided to clean up in the kitchen. Right smack dab in the middle of her kitchen island sat a bat contentedly watching her.

I hear that the Allabastro family in La Grange Park routinely sees bats hanging from their eaves near the roof and the Walsh family as well have had a bat in their home.

For many months after that story ran, people came up and said, “I loved the bat story.” Even people whom I don’t know would relate their experiences to me.

Since our nocturnal visitor, I have noticed there is a slit in one of the screens in the attic, so hopefully the mystery of how he enters is solved. More on that next summer ...

I thank you for reading my column. I welcome your comments, your suggestions and your critiques. I learn something new each week — many times I think I will be writing about a certain subject and something else comes up in conversation that the interviewee may find unremarkable but is in fact a great story. As they say, there are a lot of stories out there.

Happy New Year!

Questions, comments, ideas? E-mail lifelgp@comcast.net.