December 31, 2025

12/31/2025

Hi guys!

I hope this finds you all doing well on this beautiful eve of another new year. Here, this year, the holidays have been much heavier and more surreal than usual. There are times life doesn’t seem real because it is so filled with pleasures and happiness and seems too good to be true. Other times you find yourself having to make the happiness even while things are bleak and discouraging. There are times where you have both. Moments where you are happy with aspects of the reality around you, but also very sad about parts of that same reality.

It has been a year full of things that are heavy to hold, difficult to bear, not necessarily the happiest to experience and embrace. Things that you aren’t taught how to handle or what to do about. A lot of things that, in my opinion, I do not think needed to be included, but am trusting were a part of something greater than my understanding can comprehend.

A lot of things in life flow in the form of a wave and you have to try to ride them out the best that you can. The thing about life is that it takes time to learn how to live life. It takes winning and losing to gain appreciation and value. Some lessons mean losing what you treasure most. Some wounds never truly go away.

⠀.　　　　　　　⠀✦ ⠀ ⠀.　　　　　　　　　　　　.　　⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀* ⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　. ⠀⠀　ﾟ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. 　　✦⠀　　　　,　　　　　　　　　✦ . 　　　　　⠀　　　, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　⠀　　　⠀.　　　˚

Do you pick yourself up and keep going, though? Or do you stay down? It’s not always easy to brush yourself off and carry on, but I hope that you do. Life will cycle you through waves of problems and emotions and will continue to.

You won’t always have your loved ones around to spend time with. You go through life knowing this and try to treasure the time you have with them. It’s still never enough, though. Especially when things hit “early”.

This year we, my momma especially, had to dig deep to really create the Christmas magic. We can’t claim all the glory in it. Spirit really does work in mysterious ways.

⠀.　　　　　　　⠀✦ ⠀ ⠀.　　　　　　　　　　　　.　　⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀* ⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　. ⠀⠀　ﾟ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. 　　✦⠀　　　　,　　　　　　　　　✦ . 　　　　　⠀　　　, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　⠀　　　⠀.　　　˚

If the last five years have taught me anything, it’s that one year can in fact change everything completely. The years have been holding lots of heavy losses and lessons and there are so many things that you plan out for your life and then life doesn’t follow your plan at all. You’re just left hoping that life has a better plan than you did.

Hope is a funny thing and sometimes you don’t even know what exactly it is that you are hoping for. You simply aren’t satisfied with the cards life continues to deal and you’re kind of just hopeful for a betterment of everything while not knowing what that may be. I am accepting and appreciating the last five years for what they have been, but I am sure hoping that the next five years are quite different from them.

⠀.　　　　　　　⠀✦ ⠀ ⠀.　　　　　　　　　　　　.　　⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀* ⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　. ⠀⠀　ﾟ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. 　　✦⠀　　　　,　　　　　　　　　✦ . 　　　　　⠀　　　, ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　⠀　　　⠀.　　　˚

I know this isn’t the most cheery of holiday posts. I did enjoy chunks here and there of the year. Overall, though, it was more a year of growth than anything and growth is painful and uncomfortable and sometimes just plain awful. A lot of the things in life that are the best for you won’t always be the things that glitter like gold. Some of the things that look the prettiest and are the most enticing might actually be a stumbling block.

None of this is meant to be negative or to say this year has been bad. I think that was the most important lesson of this year. Things merely are and we decide to label them as “good” or “bad”. This year was merely another year and any event that it held was simply another moment in time. Mine may have been very painful, but it has also been very enlightening.