January 1, 2026
My Winterlude ended yesterday—that week between Christmas and New Year’s when time stands still, and I give myself a week’s worth of time to sit and read my past year’s journals.
I need this year-end audit because, one, it gives me a chance to reflect on what exactly happened this year and how I felt about it at the time; and two, it allows me to learn and grow from this knowledge, avoid repeating mistakes, and nurture wins.
Here’s how 2025 went.
Journal Review
5 Things That Amped My Energy In 2025
1. Emily getting a job. This took a significant weight off my mind. And the fact that it’s a good job, with good money, and is fully remote? Omg. So much happiness.
2. Paris. Paris with G this time. And she loved it (not as much as I did, of course, but she did love it.) The dinner cruise down the Seine and the trip to Giverny to see Monet’s water lily gardens were the highlights, for sure. I wrote in my journal, “Monet built his garden to inspire himself. Remember that, Kath! You, too, can build the things you need to inspire yourself.”
3 Ayurveda Workshop. This was by no means fantastic, but I finally did it. It had been one of those pesky things I kept telling myself I should do, since I had all the materials, but for some reason had always resisted. In October, I finally bit the bullet and invited a few people to the lounge to take quizzes, eat snacks, and talk about our doshas. It went okay. I finally took action.
4. Car. I didn’t want to buy a car, but I knew I needed one. I knew buying a new car would involve financing, finding one, and dealing with car salespeople, and I didn’t want to do any of it. But I did. And with G’s help, I found the perfect car for me, and now I’m done buying cars. I purchased a 2026 Honda CR-V and named her Pearl. She’s a beauty. I love her.
5. Dumpster. It’s not really the dumpster itself but what the dumpster represents, that continues to make me feel so happy. And that is the commitment, on both our parts, to simplify our lives by eliminating things that do not add value, either aesthetically or practically. As a result, space has opened up in dramatic and remarkable ways. For example, just yesterday I reorganized the huge mess in the computer room by relocating items that didn’t belong there. I now feel lighter in every way. Dumpster energy is fantastic. I know this won’t be my last dumpster, but I’ll fondly remember my first.
3 Things That Drained My Energy In 2025
1. Emily’s Job Hunt. It ended well, but the hunt took a toll. If I now know one thing for sure about myself it is this: My happiness is dependent on the happiness of the people I love. If the people I love are struggling, I’m struggling. End of story. And yes, I know all the wisdom:
Everyone is responsible for their own happiness.
Control the controlables.
Let them.
But I prayed to my atheist god every day that she would land on her feet, and that it wouldn’t take too long. And she did, and it didn’t (in hindsight), but the roller coaster of hopes raised, then dashed, over and over, was a definite drain.
2. Ragey Convos In My Head. The world, man. The world sucks, and it (DJT, Elon, Ice, etc.) encroached on my headspace big time. It ruined my peace and wreaked havoc on my fragile equanimity. My word(s) of the year for 2025 were:Lighten Up. What a joke.
I darkened almost immediately and stayed dark. When I chose those words last year, I wanted to disburden myself of the world. I even used the word “Insouciant” to describe how I wanted to feel. (Insouciant means showing a casual lack of concern, being nonchalant.)
Utter fail. And not only that, I looked at people who were able to ignore news and stay in their happy little oblivious bubbles as idiots, and still do.
So a big part of my interior life was spent having ragey convos in my head. And it persists to this day. Clearly, this needs to be addressed in 2026.
3. Urgent Care. A number of minor physical calamities befell me this year, starting with an unfortunate encounter with a tree that required 8 staples in my head.
My chronically eczemic ear canals acted up and required professional syringing and an antibiotic.
I got bit by another tick, picked it off alive, but it still required a prophylactic 10 days of Doxycyline.
I fell on my hand during a hike, and it took about two months to heal.
I needed to have a tooth extracted because it fell apart.
G hurt her shoulder lifting a table out of her truck, and an MRI revealed rotator cuff damage that will require surgery after her season ends this May.
Takeaways
First, I’d like to thank myself (hat tip to Snoop) for doing Morning Pages almost every day. If it weren’t for those journals, I would have forgotten so much of what had happened during 2025.
Even though it takes a lot of time, I take a kind of sick delight in reading back over a year’s worth of my blithery, blathery, self-indulgent whinging as I try to express myself …and fail. My morning pages are one of the few places where I feel I can be raw, incoherent, self-pitying, judgmental, mean, sarcastic, and even nasty.
I honestly quite like that side of myself. I’m often tempted to transcribe one of my snarky entries here just for the shock value. You have no idea how sanitized these little essays are.
Year-end audits are extremely valuable. If you don’t already do something like this, I recommend it! Reflection helps you avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Maybe.
But I know journaling isn’t for everyone.
Another way to reflect on a large block of time is to look at your photos from the past year. Pictures can trigger massive memories and be food for reflection.
So, what were your wins from 2025?
What amped your energy?
What drained it?
What lessons did you learn?
Finally, I’m glad you’re here. I enjoy knowing that a few people are reading about my small life and perhaps finding a sense of connection and camaraderie with me.
My word for 2026 is VIBE. I want to do a “vibe check” on myself and the people and things I encounter every day, and figure out how to tweak the vibe for optimal health, growth, and happiness for everyone and everything involved.
Have a Happy New Year, friends!
Sending only good vibes,
Kath
Inspiration Location 