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.

Best of luck, flea

So glad you are still with us, dcp

I can definitely relate to Mr. Flea as a 57-year old who suffered a DOGE-related job loss in 2025. My therapist suggested not looking for a job for a bit which helped my guilt (also we’re very fortunate that Bob’s job has been steady and pays well enough to support us). I did get one freelance job that, while it didn’t pan out to be as fruitful as it initially seemed like it could be, lasted a couple of months & helped me bring a little income in. I’m committed to actually getting my shit together and looking for work for real in 2026.

Aside from work, 2025 for me was about getting kind of serious about yoga including starting yoga teacher training. I’m still not sure if I really wants to teach but it’s been a great opportunity to learn more about the practice and has given me more motivation to Keep it Moving! Even when my knees and lower back / hips are being assholes.

Calli I really like Elinor Wylie Elinor Wylie | The Poetry Foundation [link]

Her poem Pretty Words was in a volume of Childcraft books my grandmother had Pretty Words by Elinor Wylie - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetry [link]

Flea and Calli and lisah the job losses suck. I hope that 2026 brings something kick ass for everyone.

Best of luck flea. I can imagine where you live is very expensive without two incomes.

It's been such a hard year for everyone. I almost feel like I shouldn't be complaining: I still have a job, most of my coworkers are still with us, we are not at risk, even if we lost our alternate work schedules and telework. But the fog of trauma over the country and the federal government in particular has really tainted everything. And the workload has basically doubled in the last six months, with no help from HQ on how to prioritize or triage it.

I've gained a bunch of weight and lost a lot of conditioning, although I'm running again (sort of), because my mental health suffers when I don't.

My family's ok, for the most part, and I took a great trip to England over the summer, but I cannot say it's been a good year. It's just been ... hard. I fantasize about retiring and then worry about not having the resources to do it. I'm not getting as much socialization as I need, either.

So like Pix I'm very happy to be involved in dog sports -- although for me it's agility.

And yet things could be so much worse. Bah.

Having 2 parents working full-time, with 2 kids, and no family nearby is fucking HARD, y'all.

Large Son is in 1st grade, and doing well. He does seem to be struggling with self-regulation, but teacher doesn't see anything concerning. He's writing a lot (loves to make signs that tell people what to do. In detail. With 1st grader spelling), which is cool.

Small Son is 2 now, and likes to do everything his brother does. He's started telling little autobigraphical stories, which is adorable. He's still shorter than his 2 friends who are the same age, but also still significantly denser. He loves anything musical, and can sometimes sing recognizable songs. So, dwarf bard.

I am hoping to have a new work situation by the middle of this year, but it's being complicated by at home stuff, as DH has transitioned to an Actual Full-Time Employee Again, rather than a contractor, but this is not coming with an increase in The Monies (with fun bonus "No One Has Time To Do House Things Anymore"). But work sucks, and I'd like to be able to take Christmas Break off more than once every 5 years, so...