Sometimes it's, well, I won't say "easier" to have a crisis, because it's a crisis, but things are well-defined and maybe you have an ask for if people want to circle the wagons and stuff. I think I know how that feels, Jess. Even if we're not having the same one.

Well, all the everything has not been ideal. The direction the US officially went this year is disgusting. While I’ve always seen the US as having good and bad aspects before, I’ve never been as ashamed of our leaders and the people who support them as I am today.

Personally, the big negative was losing my job. Which was entirely due to the actions of the federal government. Which is not exactly helping with the first bit. On the plus side, I got into gardening in a big way, contributing loads of fresh veg to the local food bank. I’ve gotten to know my sister and the other MI family members a lot better, which has been delightful. I’ve loved exploring the area, especially the local parks. Javier, the cat i inherited from amyth, has become cuddlier and even slightly social. I’ve made some good acquaintances who might become friends. And I’ve read a lot of good books.

I was reminded that not all New Year’s resolutions need to be punitive. So I’m thinking of setting a resolution to read one new (to me) poem a week this year. There are so many poets whose work I’m unfamiliar with, especially Americans and anyone after Edna St. Vincent Millay. I’d like to change that, and I’ll probably be asking for recs in the reading thread.

There are so many poets whose work I’m unfamiliar with, especially Americans and anyone after Edna St. Vincent Millay. I’d like to change that, and I’ll probably be asking for recs in the reading thread.

I will recommend Marianne Moore and Elizabeth Bishop.

Background on Marianne and links to her poetry: [link]

Background on Elizabeth and links to her poetry: [link]

Poetry Foundation website is an incredible resource for this kind of pursuit.

So, Tim's cancer kind of overshadowed everything else in 2025. I'm not ignoring that his prognosis was very good and his care team was top notch — I'm super grateful for both of those things — but it was still fucking cancer. Even though I'm trying not to, I'm holding my breath (existentially speaking) until the PET scan at the end of January. We have every reason to believe it'll be clean, but waiting for confirmation sucks, and my brain can go down some very bad rabbit holes. Definitely praying that 2026 will be the year of no cancer.

Alas, PT for my hip pain helped somewhat, but not enough. So I have an MRI on Monday, and hopefully it will show something easily repairable. (If it's what the symptoms are pointing to — a torn labrum — that should be able to be fixed with outpatient arthroscopic surgery.) Because I'd really like 2026 to also be the year of being able to walk more than 3 steps without pain.

I'd also like 2026 to be the year of Not Worrying About Our Health.

I'd also like 2026 to be the year of Not Worrying About Our Health.

I'm all for that

Thanks, David!

I'd also like 2026 to be the year of Not Worrying About Our Health.

Excellent goals!

That sounds like an excellent plan to me.

I am not particularly a fan of 2025. Not much personally went wrong (other than my dad dying on the way out) but obviously a lot wrong institutionally and on a global scale. And nothing really great personally either. So while I have my doubts I am hoping 2026 can be a better year for a variety of things.

Happy new year, my dears! I hope 2026 follows the “the even ones are better” rule

2025 was a very quiet year for me. I think. The trouble is, I can't really remember.

• I made a post about my cancer anniversery in June. I know this because I bookmarked it.
  
• My clinical trial ended just before Thanksgiving. That was a big deal.
  
• I had a problem with a medication in early December. That was painful for a few days.
  
• I had a fall in mid-December. That was even more painful, and parts of me still hurt from it.

The rest is all missing. I strain to remember, and...nothing.

That's a little scary.

The decline continues. ::sigh::

I’m glad you’re with us, dcp.

I am struggling to find the will to try for better things in 2026. I’m discouraged. We had a lot of family loss this year: Mr. Flea lost his job at the EPA (his entire division was dissolved), we sold our house in Cincinnati (the house we’d intended as our forever house), Mr. Flea’s father died, and our cat Daria died, and on Saturday my Mother’s husband died (sort of finally, but she’s a mess and demanding.)

In good things I got a new nephew, probably my last, and grew many things in the garden and read 86 books. Casper has been working as a landscaper and really likes it and is out driving a snowplow as we speak. She’s also had a boyfriend since April. Dillo continues to have a great boat and summer science job community (he’s delivering an academic paper virtually at a conference in February) and is doing fine in his second year of college, is speedrunning learning to knit and finally motivated to get a drivers license.

My big challenge is going to be getting mr flea off the couch and into life, and ideally a job, since we can’t afford to have him retired yet (he’s only 57 and librarian pay is low), but what he wants is to be retired and he’s very stubborn. Wish me luck.