Goodbye & Hello

With the Christmas decorations boxed up for another year, I am saying goodbye to the holidays, which brought festivities and loved ones to our home. While the house feels a little empty since our children have gone back to college, it's time for me to say hello to the

New Year as the Christmas season fades into the background, along with our beloved Christmas music.

While I often wish the holidays could last just a little longer, I realize that's like trying to hold back the tide. Time marches on and so do the holidays. As a goal-oriented person, I actually love the energy that surrounds the start of a New Year. It's the perfect reset following the holidays. Armed with little more than my enthusiasm and a newly minted 2026 calendar, I am in the mood to get something done.

Yet, as I reflect over 2025, I am reminded of the wins and losses that I experienced along the way. As we set our New Years goals annually, no one anticipates the losses or hurdles we might face throughout the year. We simply focus on the goals we want to achieve as we return to our normal routine, after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. However, if I learned anything from 2025, I learned that there's no such thing as "normal" when it comes to a New Year. While there is a sense of hope that accompanies this annual tradition, alongside that hope comes a bit of uncertainty, as well.

Last year held its own unexpected challenges for our family, none of which were even a thought as we ushered in 2025, twelve months earlier. Despite this shift, our family continued to chip away at the goals we set for ourselves. These goals became a much needed distraction as the hopes and possibilities of the year began to unravel.

We couldn't prevent this unraveling from happening anymore than we could hold back the tide. It was out of our hands. The losses still came, despite our best efforts. However, loss isn't the only thing we got out of 2025. We also had several wins. Those wins can never take away the losses we experienced, but they did help lessen the sting a bit.

Even though 2025 was a challenge, I am all in for 2026. Experience has taught me that here are no guarantees regarding this New Year. However, if I take it one day at a time, I have 360 days of promise ahead of me and those are pretty good odds. I look forward to all the possibilties that await me as I say hello to 2026.