Month: January 2026

Everything

I had a lot of plans for my blog after the new year: a recap of last year, goals for this year, catching everyone up on my little world. But my workplace has had other plans for me.

I am known at work for being very detail-oriented, thorough, reliable. Great, right? Well, sure, until the number of people who depend on me, ask me questions, and send me documents to review became a bit overwhelming.

Yesterday I stayed late to finish reviewing a 60+ page budget for someone else in my department. I stared at numbers, followed table rows, and corrected adding errors until I was damn near cross-eyed. Meanwhile, my own work sat, untouched, because I was interrupted all day long with questions and requests for help. I am flattered that I am considered so reliable and helpful, but I really need a breather and time to handle my own work, too.

I want to think a bit about how to make this blog serve me best this year: how to use it more for accountability, for just getting thoughts out of my head, for recording snippets of my life. I haven’t had much time to ponder that since coming back to work, but it’s churning in the back of my head.

Today is officially one full week into the new year already. I know I can’t make time slow down, but I want to take some time each day to really focus on what is happening around me, from the scattering of clouds in the sky to the feel of the breeze as I sit outside at night, to a new bud on one of our roses, to the sound of my husband laughing at something I said, the way his eyes shine when he is happy, all of it…the small things that are actually everything to me.

Word of the Year

I have read other blogs about choosing a word of the year, but I have never chosen one myself. It seemed like a silly, cliched thing to do, a touchy-feely gesture with no tangible purpose. But for some reason, when I read this quote, I found myself wondering, what will my word of the year be for 2026?

I kicked a few words around in my head, but nothing sunk in its teeth and held on until I hit on one in particular. It clicked into place and felt perfect:

BLOOM.

That is exactly what this year will be for me. Last year, I did the dirty work, the digging, the cultivating, churning things up underground, just like preparing a garden bed for the seeds and the beauty to come. I dug deep, ripped out weeds, and finished the year exhausted from the work but also at a level of peace I have never felt before.

Lasting change is impossible without that prep work, just like a thriving, healthy flower garden is not possible without making sure the ground is ready to accept the seeds, ready to embrace them and nurture them into something beautiful. Weeds pop up, as any gardener knows, and vigilance is needed to tear them out before they take over and suck vitality from the flowers.

That’s where I am now: waiting patiently for the seeds to burst from that ground. Waiting for the flowers whose home I have prepared. Tired from the battle to get to this point, but in a calm, happy way, because I know it will be worth it.

Maybe Next Year

On New Year’s Eve, my husband and I canceled our plans, since both of us are finally recovering from a cold and weren’t too keen on venturing out into a 30-degree night. Right before midnight, as the 10-second countdown started ticking down to the new year, my husband straightened up on the couch and brushed at his shirt and smoothed his hair like he was trying to make a good impression on me. I thought it was adorable. We kissed at midnight to welcome the new year together.

We slept in on New Year’s Day, snuggled up under the covers on a chilly morning. It was one of those perfect, no-real-plans, just relaxed and winging it kind of days. When we finally got up, we took a leisurely, hot shower together, then shared the kitchen to cook our traditional, good-luck New Year dishes.

We took today off together too, for a long weekend. This morning we took down the Christmas tree, and now the living room has that odd, empty look to it after all the decorations are gone, until we get used to it again. As much as I love to decorate, I must admit that I feel relieved to have a break for a while! From September all the way through the end of the year, from fall decor to the last of the Christmas lights, it’s non-stop decorating, taking things down, putting the next set up.

Maybe next New Year’s Eve, we will get dressed up, go out somewhere. But the way we celebrated this past one–quiet, peaceful, cozy, happy– was just perfect to me.

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