2025. What a year. At least, in 2020, there was some promise that the global pandemic would eventually end. A silver lining, a hope that the world might go back to normal. Five years out, I’m still grieving the world before and accepting that this is how we live now.
I don’t talk about my personal life on this platform very much. I used to talk about it more, but, at some point, I became very protective of the struggles, the joys, the little moments in my days that were never meant to be shared with the world. I do try to be honest with you though, and part of me misses the days when I felt more free to talk about life. Sadly, given that the past few years have been more struggle than joy, I also don’t like feeling like such a downer.
In that vain, I wanted to share the good things from 2025. Small though some of them may be, joy in a joyless world should be celebrated.
- Stella. Losing Avery was and is very hard. But Kyle’s dog, Stella, has become such a welcome and unexpected comfort. She still loves him the most, but she knows I’m where she gets her snuggles.
- Sloane. A bigger joy, to be sure, but our chats on the drive home from school are my favorite. Stay silly, and curious, singing off key, looking for “pink sky,” my baby.
- No More Sad Desk Lunch. My therapist recommended that I do one thing for myself every day. I honestly didn’t know where to start. So I just started eating lunch somewhere other than my desk. No work phone. No handling errands or chores. Just me, sitting at the counter, eating my lunch, watching the news, reading a magazine, or listening to a podcast. It’s such a tiny thing, but when you spend every minute of the day trying to be a multi-tasking Mom, just relaxing for a meal away from your desk feels big.
- Citrus Packets. I wasn’t drinking enough water. Then, along came True Lime. Just crystallized lime juice, lime oil, and citric acid. No weird chemicals. No strange additives. Just the vehicle that finally got me drinking more water.
- The Playlist. It’s the 1990s again on Spotify. This one, focusing on 1995, is also good.
- Goodbye Coffee. I didn’t drink coffee until Sloane was born. Then, I started drinking it too much. It became my emotional support beverage. This year, I switched back to tea, and I feel so much better. #londonfoglife
- Embracing Nostalgia. This map of my hometown, a Casa Bonita snow globe, Avery’s favorite ball displayed like a signed baseball, and other tchotchkes in my office bring me a lot of joy.
- Popping Off. Never waste another bottle of champagne with this stopper.
- Going Back to Church. Sloane came home from school one day and told me she wanted to go to church. So a lapsed Methodist took her daughter to church, and the choir director played her favorite hymn to remind her she belonged there.
- The Snacks. Eat this cashew butter and tell me it doesn’t improve your day. A sweet potato, roasted, add white cheddar cheese and green onion. Don’t ask me to explain it, just eat it. Also, don’t let those past-their-prime grapes go to waste — roast them.
Share your joys, small and large in the comments. Goodness knows we could use more.
+ Merry Christmas to me.
+ Meet the “Hallmark job,” why shouldn’t life be a movie?
+ I bought Sloane these snow bibs for next year because they were too cute.
+ Want a younger brain? Apparently, you should be strength training.
+ Gobsmacked by the price on these pajamas. These are better.
+ A hysterical comedy routine about perimenopause.
+ Beauty Stocking Stuffers: eyeshadow sticks, lip butter, the body stone.
+ I started “micro-organizing” — my goal is to finish the drawers and cabinets before NYE.
+ Everyone is getting these post-it notes as a gift. Everyone.
+ Tips on how to survive when caring for a loved one in the hospital.
+ Big sale at Ann Taylor. Snapped up these shiny flats for some dazzle.
+ Can you manifest better friendships?
+ This unique bracelet caught my eye. This labradorite necklace is also cool.
+ How to feel less lonely during the holidays.
+ This baby grand piano is so cute. But then, I remember she’ll play it. Constantly.
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I’m fascinated by those pajamas. I can’t image having to hand wash my PJs.
I was inpatient for 66 days while expecting my daughter (who was in the NICU for another two months), including over Christmas. One thing I learned was to take advantage of the respite and care resources available: Ronald McDonald House rooms, child life resources, in-hospital library services, social worker resources, etc.
They not only break up the monotony, but the staff sees you as an engaged partner in care. And sometimes a break from the beeping and the same four walls is an absolute blessing.
I would love to see a post from you on styling the Rag & Bone Miramar jeans! I picked some up around Black Friday/Cyber Monday but can’t figure out how to wear them. The tight, cropped tees I usually see as their featured style aren’t a look I can pull off post-baby so I’d love your ideas!
This year has been HARD. I don’t even have the bandwidth to figure out what needs to happen to make things easier. But I did get a subscription to Southern Living (I live in northern IL) and once a month I get lost in a magazine like it’s 1992. It was $20 for 2 years? I could completely relate to you eating lunch & flipping through a magazine! Let’s bring magazines back!
For me it was time with family; a week in Door County WI, Thanksgiving all together. I threw a fancy tea party for my grandchildren, they were so excited. As soon as they woke up that morning, they put on their “fancy” clothes. I reconnected with an old friend and made a new one in a MahJong class and now the 3 of us play weekly. I appreciate you asking us all to share good things, something that I really need right now in this world.
Thank you for being candid. This blog is a regular source of joy in a hard year. Offline, my joys lately are: getting to know my nieces and nephews as they grow from little kids to teens and young adults, getting back into running after an injury, enjoying my house being (somewhat) decorated for Christmas, especially the tree, and a small daily joy of sweet cream in my coffee.
This year has been so f*ing hard. I am grateful for your corner of the internet and you can keep it real here. I’ll add a few small joys: my son’s face lighting up when I come home from my train wreck of a fed job. My grumpy old corgi climbing in my lap for the occasional snug. My wife making me a latte on weekend mornings (she’s gotten into peppermint mocha for the holiday). Lying in the grass in my backyard looking up at the clouds (so grateful to have a backyard again after years living in DC proper). Brunches with current and former coworkers from a past project, who are all smart and vivacious women. Swimming in the ocean this summer. We will make it through this.
Thanks for your candor. I’m so intrigued by your comment, “I’m still grieving the world before and accepting that this is how we live now” because I wonder if that’s the way to describe how I feel sometimes. Or is it just classic nostalgia that comes with the passing of any time, pandemic or not? Am I wasting energy yearning for something that is gone or is there some way to productively channel this energy and reclaim some of those relics of pre-2020? I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on this if ever you’re up for it and yet I very much understand if you want to keep those thoughts private. Here’s to 2026!
Great post, thank you! (the Post It notes!!!!) The one thing I don’t understand is the champagne stopper (ha ha ha ha ha) Happy holidays everyone!
This year I started playing pickleball. Yes, the obnoxious “fake sport” scourge taking over all the tennis courts. Trust me when I say I never ever would’ve thought this would be me!
I can’t describe how wonderful it has been to have something that forces me to get outside even when the weather isn’t ideal (indoor facilities aren’t a thing here). I am not athletic and have never played a sport before, but it turns out I actually love this. Movement that isn’t just slogging through a gym class or trudging on a treadmill has been weirdly revolutionary for me and an unexpected source of joy during so many times of stress throughout the year.
Although I had grown up attending church, it lapsed over the years. I want a traditional service full of choirs and hymns but also an open-minded and intellectual approach to spirituality. My husband and I agreed that if/when our child expressed any curiosity that we would start back up. Our teenager asked to start going about a year ago. Weekly attendance has now become a meaningful time for all of us and a moment of peace when a lot of other things feel uncontrolled.
S, thanks for sharing! Do you mind sharing what kind of church you’re attending?
The Methodist church i attend in my hometown is like this (church of the resurrection in Kansas City). Offers contemporary and traditional music at different services. Episcopalian churches are traditional and open-minded, too.
I am also at a Methodist church. Since the schism, not all UMC churches like this, but it takes about 2-minutes (or just a glance at the sign outside, which will usually have LGBTQ+ flags on them to indicate affiliation) to figure out which ones are.
Yes came here to say this! You want to look for a reconciling Methodist Church. We attend one too, I love it.
It’s a United Methodist church, well-established and fairly large for a coastal city in the South. We liked that it has lots of offerings for different ages/stages and a genuine commitment to being friendly and welcoming. We’ve also got friends who say similar things about their Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches.
I also force myself to take a real lunch break and it’s been great. A couple of other things that being me joy:
– a short daily walk that I take either after I drop my son at the school bus or at another point during the day. Having the flexibility to have take it at different points during the day means I actually do it. I do the same 15 minute route.
-putting my phone “to bed” at 8:30pm allows me to wind down at night.
-scheduling a monthly friend hangout. I look forward to it each month.
I love these summaries and I am happy to have discovered your page. Just like you shared in your opening paragraph, I have reduced greatly how much of my personal struggles I share online.
I worked on being consistent on my blog gracealexfashionblog.com.