As I sit at my desk on this eve of 2026, I find myself in a peculiar place. I just turned 55 a couple of days ago. It happened quietly. Without flair. Just like this holiday season. I am not sad or disappointed in any capacity. Rather…I am content. Completely content with this current season of my life. It’s odd for me.
This is the first year that I can recall having had a quiet enough life to actually get my head around wrapping up one year and welcoming the next. I have been “wintering”. Moving very intentionally. Putting thought and purpose into decisions. Considering lessons that I have learned this past year and meditating on how I can best utilize those lessons for growth in the coming months. I. AM. PLANNING. Different from setting resolutions. I don’t really participate in that practice.
I have 2 main areas that I am focusing on this coming year: writing and my garden. For no other reason than these are the very two things that always seem to be tossed by the wayside when my life gets crazy….and if I am being honest, they are the two things that I seem to always have the most desire to succeed in. Funny to me how that works.
This entire year has been one of deep lessons for me. I have learned how to set healthy boundaries for myself. How to say “No” to things that don’t and won’t serve me. And how to appreciate the energy in my life. It’s been a year of extreme self care. Physical & mental health. I have finally learned how to let go of the guilt/responsibility that I have felt for the care of my Dad. And I have learned to let go of the worry about what others think of me. My anxiety has almost completely gone by the wayside as a result of all of this and…I have found myself staring at a bright and shiny new year with a sense of contentment that I never dreamed of.
I have released my need for perfection with my writing. Realizing how paralyzing it’s been for me to think that I had to have an entire outline together, images, links and all other “ducks” in a row before I could write. Instead, I am promising myself that I will simply put fingers to keyboard a couple of times each week and then give myself permission to go back over my pieces and adjust, edit and otherwise fluff them to my liking as my mood strikes.
I have vowed to not get hung up on growing my audience and instead simply focus on putting words to the page. Sharing my amazing life, my lessons and wisdoms here on a regular basis without the care of how many may or may not interact.
And I have promised myself that I will read copious amounts of others words in 2026. Books. Substacks. All of it. I will feed my brain with thoughts and opinions that are floating around the Universe for me to discover. If I can sit and read while in my beautiful garden, all the better.
As 2025 prepares to move along, what promises have you made to yourself? I would love to hear about them in the comments if you feel inclined. Let’s cheer for each other…and everyone else.