2025 has been SUCH a year for me
Warning: this will be a rather navel-gazing kind of post and I'm not even going to pretend otherwise. Proceed at your own risk. 😉
The other day as I was driving to work, I was thinking about what a dizzying year this has been!
I finished nursing school.
I had my pinning ceremony.
I wore my first-ever graduation gown.
And my first graduation cap!
I passed my NCLEX.
I started a job as a nurse.
I started my BSN program.
I crossed two more states off my see-all-50-states map.
Annd...I bought my dream car.
Four years ago at this time, I was in the depths of despair because of my marriage, and I could barely see how to keep on going.
But I walked out just a few weeks later, and ever since, my life has steadily improved. If only four-years-ago Kristen could see 2025 Kristen!
In 2018, I turned 40 and I thought, "I hope my 40s are going to be a good decade." But 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 were objectively some of the worst years of my life.
However, 2022, 2023, 2024, and especially 2025 have been SO MUCH BETTER, and I am grateful. 🙂
You're so inspirational, Kristen! I'm so happy for you! I hope 2026 is even better 🙂
2025 was kind of a heavy year for me (and the world!) but there were great moments; going to Paris, different parts of Sweden and coming home for visits, as well as all the simple, everyday things, such as seeing friends, going out and swimming in the sea. This year I also started going to the gym and doing the occasional park run! I feel physically and mentally healthier 🙂 Here's hoping 2026 will be even better! Kristen, you are certainly an example to us all!
Cheers to your amazing year! I’m so very happy for you and for ALL the huge things you’ve accomplished. Wishing you an amazing 2026 full of beautiful, wonderful things.
I feel nothing but joy for you. You deserve it, you worked hard for it, and you are an inspiration for others. I hope 2026 is another great year for you.
What a fantastic year! You're an inspiration to us all here at the Commentariat. Reading about your journey to become a nurse, after years of working at home educating your own kids, has helped me immensely on my own path.
I know things out in the wide world have been heavy this year, but 2025 was, honestly, a very good year for our family. As my youngest put it, "2025 was MUCH better than 2024, because nobody went to the hospital for a month!" And yep, that pretty much sums it up!
@Karen A., Oh my goodness but I remember how that hospital-free-month could feel. There was the time both boys crashed their mountain bikes less than a week apart --yikes! and so many other oopsies, bumps, & breaks. Thank goodness they are all self-reliant adults now.
I hope 2026 is a bit easier for your family.
@Beth, Oh, we didn't have that kind of a year in 2024...my kids are, thankfully, not super accident prone--but one of my kids was in and out of the hospital for a month with multiple surgeries, so...2025 has been GREAT since nobody has had to go to the hospital at all! 😉
@Karen A., That really is an excellent result for your 2025. Congrats & keep well!
Hahaha, yes, a life without hospital stays is so much better!
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It is great to see you now with wind under your wings! We are happy for you, and your girls too.
@JNL, What an excellent expression of all of our thoughts!
You're such an inspiration! I'm so happy for you, and your girls.
I'm so happy for you that your life is on the upswing. Let's hear it for second acts!
LOVE this navel-gazing post! Many times I have smiled as I read your posts this year. You are an inspiration, Kristen. I sincerely am so happy for you.
Happy New Year!
HAPPY 2026
It has been inspirational to see you make this journey, Kristen. You are an example of what one can achieve. You have absolutely changed your life.
The last several years have been hard for me. Despite my efforts, my days have been full of small difficulties. Nothing has been easy and I find this tiring. I feel like I am swimming against the current. I know eventually the tide will turn.
DH and I have talked a little about what we would like 2026 to look like. I will sit down sometime today and set this year's goals. I will decide what my word of the year will be. I am actually looking forward to a quiet and New Year's Eve after the chaos of December.
I want to thank all of you for your kind words yesterday regarding Calico Kitty. It was so very touching.
Happy New Year! I hope this is the year that dreams come true.
@Bee,
This spring, I hope you find another little kitty to be your fur baby and bring joy into your life! And hopefully the obstacles will end up being stepping stones toward a brighter future.
@Fru-gal Lisa, ❤️
@Bee,
I missed the news about Calico Kitty yesterday.....sending condolences. I have lost furry family members several times, and it never gets easier. Hoping for a lighter, peaceful 2026 for you.
2025 was fantastic for you! It's been great to watch all your accomplishments. Here is to a wonderful 2026 for all
I’m so happy for you! May 2026 be even better.
That's a good navel to be gazing at. 🙂
Happy New Year to all.
Congratulations on your very good year
Kristen! You work hard for your happiness
And have really earned all the good things.
My year has had ups and downs, I’m pretty
sure I’m in the majority.
Here’s to best wishes for everyone to have
a healthy, happy 2026!
So happy for you, Kristen! Here's to a marvelous 2026 for everyone!
I have a friend who has been in a bad relationship for many years and is now considering divorce. Do you have advice or books to recommend for?
@Judy, Natalie Hoffman (Flying Free), Gretchen Baskerville (The Life-Saving Divorce), Leslie Vernick, Sheila Gregoire (Bare Marriage). These ladies have excellent resources (support/membership groups, websites with articles, youtube channels, podcasts, books) geared towards Christian women but applicable to all.
In addition to these, Lundy Bancroft's book, "Why Does He Do That?" was pivotal in helping me realize my marriage was almost surely never going to get better. And that clarity helped me see I needed to never go back.
What an incredible year with so many big accomplishments! I'm so happy for you, Kristen!
Wonderful end-of-year reflections. I pray that any woman or man in an abusive marriage will read this and find the strength to walk out and create the life they deserve. So very proud of you Kristen.
Your post makes my heart so happy! You deserve only the best! Wishing you an awesome 20206!
Throughout the year, my partner and I keep a list of “good things,” big or small events that bring us joy or peace or wonder, usually a a one or two a week. On New Year’s Day, we sit down with a cuppa and read them to each other. I’m looking forward to doing that tomorrow.
One of my good things this year was finding this blog!
@JaeFi, what a good idea about the "good things" list. This may be a very good use for the journal I bought with only the first two pages filled in (see a couple of my recent comments); the good things may counterbalance the first two pages!
And, of course, I join the crowd congratulating Kristen on her excellent year and wishing her--and all of us--many more of them.
@A. Marie,
I think you are trying to bring good karma to that journal!
@JaeFi, I made my own "brain" (planner) this year, and I've been toying with an idea similar to yours-- except maybe tweaking it to be a list of things I've accomplished because I look at the never-ending list of things to do and feel like I never get anything done. I wonder how much it might change my attitude if I keep a list of the things I DO accomplish (not the everyday cooking/cleaning things), the books I DO read, etc.
I wonder if this is just part of the re-framing attitude.
@Jody S., We've found that it helps us develop awareness of the good things—to look for them each day and pay attention to them as they’re happening. I think that would work for building your sense of accomplishment as well!
@JNL, you're absolutely right. And since you will be celebrating the New Year in The Netherlands several hours ahead of us in the US, Happy New Year!
(And, BTW, I really like what I've seen of your King and Queen. "Wax and Max"--as some folks irreverently call them--seem genuinely to enjoy what they do and enjoy each other. Long may they reign!)
@JaeFi,
My son gave me a lined journal for my birthday earlier this month. That sounds like the perfect way to use it! Thank you!
@A. Marie,
Blog joyful through it all has journal prompts for those days when you sit down to write and you mind goes blank. Peace and Light be yours in the New Year.
I know what you mean but I think four-years-ago Kristen did see 2025 Kristen. She was brave enough to see that her present wasn't what she wanted and that a better future lay ahead when she left. And what an amazing future it has been! Congratulations on a great year and best wishes for an amazing 2026!
@Carla G, I think you are right. She had to have had an inkling of what she wanted, and enough faith to formulate a plan. Seeing the potential long term results gave her the courage to forge ahead into the great unknown. Having a tremendous support system in place also provided fuel.
I suppose that is true! Thank you.
What a lovely way to end the year! 2024 and 2025 have been tough years for our family. Because of reading this, I take heart in thinking that, at the end of 2026, things will be better and we will have learnt to cope with all the grief we have been thrown.
Sending you a hug and wishes for a gentler 2026.
Walking through the dark into the light is so joyful, so freeing. Hooray for your Much Better 2025!
I would call 2025 both a recovery year and a preparation year for me. Recovering from deaths in 2024, especially DH's, and from the 2023 and 2024 hurricanes; recovering from hurricanes takes longer than I had realized. "Preparation" is for retirement and possible future hurricanes, plus the mental preparation that I won't be working anymore. It seems more unreal, the closer it gets. The year 2026 is really going to be a new experience for me, so I truly don't know what it will be like!
@JD, maybe making lists of how you want retirement to look would help. You probably are already doing that. So much free time in theory, but if it isn’t corralled into some sort of order, it vanishes.
When my husband first retired, he was so giddy. The next year he became fiddly, figuring out how to turn little tasks into lengthy time-consuming projects. He spends more time setting up tables and lights and arranging things than I spend just hunkering down in the dirt and pounding something into shape. (“No thanks, Honey, I don’t need the sawhorses and a table—I’m almost finished here.”)
@JD, my retirement experience was a little different from what yours will be, since I did mine the minute I turned 65 because of DH. (I was still thinking at the time that I could continue caring for him at home; that lasted 10 months.) But I still haven't completely sorted out my post-DH life, and I look forward to hearing how you're doing yours. (And if memory serves, 2/28/26 is your target date? Bring it on!)
@JD,
Central Calif. Artist Jana and A. Marie,
Yep, 2/28/26 is my date, except that is a Saturday, so my actual last work week will end on 2/27. The lady at the SSA office assured me that they will consider the 28th as my birthday.
I had started making a list of projects to do in retirement, but I lost the list, so I'm moving it to an actual notebook. One of my fears is that I will do as Jana said, waste my time with little tasks that shouldn't take so long, instead of being focused and completing them in a timely manner. I certainly don't want 100 unfinished projects all over the house. This is a good reminder to treat my tasks at home as I do at work.
So excited for you!
Happy New Year, Kristen! You deserve all the beautiful things and happy wins!
GLORY HALLELUJAH! Rejoicing with you, Kristen!
So happy for you and your wonderful year!! The old saying "this too shall pass" - followed by "it may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass" is a phrase my mom and I shared back and forth in her last few years. You've passed your kidney stone and it's time for health and good things! Thanks for sharing your journey with us and for showing us how to navigate tough things with grace and humor.
@Kris, I love that second phrase!
I lost my husband unexpectedly three years ago, January 18th. It's been a rough three years and still don't see how it'll get better. But, I get up each day, try to at least see something to give me hope that I won't have 20 or 30 years of profound sadness and loneliness. I couldn't be more proud of women that can move forward and still live, let alone creat new positive lives. I hope the rest of your 40's and decades to come are all you deserve.
@Sam,
I think I speak for all of us in wishing you a 2026 of more peace and hope for a better “new normal.” May your husband’s memory continue to be a blessing.
@Sam, I'm sorry for your sadness. Our friend unexpectedly died this year, and I think so often of his widow and young daughters. Then I see the widower at church who is in his 80's and still mourning the death of his wife; they were together since high school and knew each other their entire lives. I can't imagine that pain, that level of difficult to live without that nearly literal "other half."
I pray that you are able to focus on the small good things and maybe find a different joy outside your pain that you can foster and grow. I am sorry for your loss, but I hope you may find a new joy of some kind.
@Sam, hands across the miles to you from another member of the FG Widows' Club. As I noted above in my comment to @JD, I'm still working on working out my post-DH life. But let's all be good to each other and ourselves--as we all try to be in general, in this welcoming space Kristen has created.
@A. Marie,
And I echo everything you just said. My sympathies, Sam.
Sending you a big hug, Sam. I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope little pockets of hope find their way to you.
@Sam, I am sorry for your loss. Such a brutal club to join. I wish you peace & glimmers of returning happiness
I have read all the comments, and I echo everything that everyone has said. Congratulations on everything that you have accomplished this year, what a year! Cheers to 2026!
I'm so thrilled for you, Kristen!!! YOU are amazing and should be so proud!! I hope 2026 continues on this positive trend -- I have a feeling it will!!
Congratulations Kristen! It takes so much strength to do what you did from your past. You deserve all the kudos. You didn't know what would happen, but you knew it was going to be the best for you, so you tried. Taking that first step is the hardest.
For me, 2025 was decent. And 2026 will be better because retirement is in my future! 🙂
Today's comments reflect what I'm thinking and more. This corner of the Internet is truly caring and fills me up. Kristen, you built and maintain an exceptional blog.
And you are a part of what makes it special! Thank you for being here!
Kristen, If someone told me that they know a person who accomplished your list of very big things in one year, I would think it’s an exaggeration. But you did it. It’s nothing short of amazing. It’s been a fun privilege to follow along and cheer with/for your progress.
Imagine what will be in store for you in 2026!
What a wild year, right? So packed full of happy thing!
Yay, Kristen!
so glad your life has improved. you deserve the best that life has to offer. the car is GORGEOUS. enjoy it in good health and happiness.
It's been so uplifting to see all your achievements this year. I'm sure they will continue long into 2026 and beyond. You go, girl! You've got this!
Isaiah 61:3 promises that God gives beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of heaviness. Your life has been a fulfillment of that promise. Oh, and some translations say "a crown of beauty" instead of ashes -- could your crown of beauty be your graduation cap? I've also read one that said a "mantle of joy," and thought of your graduation gown having a mantle signifying you as an honor grad. And IIRC, didn't your nurse supervisors and teachers give you a lot of praise?
Meanwhile, 2025 has been a year of upheaval in my world, mostly having to do with political change. For the first time in my life, I participated in a protest, put political signs in my yard, and contacted elected officials to tell them my objections. (In my former career, public displays like this were verboten.) Being extremely upset about our nation, to the extent it keeps me awake at night, I was glad I could take action.
But upheavals also affected me personally. Turning 70 was a major thing. Finally started receiving Social Security, and this has helped me a lot. On the minus side, I noticed I am slowing down physically, not being able to safely climb ladders or walk long distances without feeling knee pain. But good news, too: the cancer has not returned, and they don't expect it will.
My substitute teaching career ended, sadly and unfairly, this September. But I have recently realized God had me in His Hands even then: had I earned as much money as I'd thought I would, it would've pushed me into a higher tax bracket. It's not how much money you make, it's how much you keep, that counts, and I would've ended up paying the extra $ to Uncle Sam. (I will be debt-free by this time next year, with or without the subbie pay.) The school district was getting worse and worse, as were the kids -- when that Special Ed boy pummeled me very hard in the chest area with his fists, hard enough to cause bruising, not a single employee asked me if I was injured, or offered to get me to the nurse. That is inexcusable!
My lifelong dream of falling in love, getting married and being a mother never happened. But this year, I'm coming to terms with it and realizing how fortunate I am being single. Just yesterday, I had a married couple come through my cash register lane -- and the man berated his wife to the extent that disgusted me. I've also started to fully understand that living my life by committee decision with some guy would probably not work for me.
I was able to make important improvements to my home, including plumbing, new flooring and a new roof. I did not have to take out loans to do this.
I now have a new fur baby, my Snuggly-Wuggly Dog, and he's turning into a really good watch dog, barking at strangers now. He's also a sweet fellow who likes to be near me most of the time. Esp. if I'm eating!
And I ended the year with a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that were not spent alone, for a change.
Happy New Year to all! May 2026 be the start of the BEST of your lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Fru-gal Lisa, Thank you for sharing these perspectives. You are an encouragement!
I'm so happy for you, Kristen! You've definitely had an amazing year, and you earned it. I hope 2026 is even better.
It has been such a pleasure watching you thrive. You have lived through huge life hurdles. With grace and dignity.
Thank you for this blog and this community.
As I tell my kids, even if your steps are tiny, as long as your heading towards that far off goal, you will get there. If you can do it with a smile, well, that is Grace.
Here to cheer you on and enjoy this awesome community!
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, one of my favorite sayings - A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
@Bee,
Embroidered on a pillow!
We are so proud of you and happy for you!
I am so happy for you. I've been reading for a very long time. Zoe was a wee little thing when I first found you and learning that you had, for a long time, been living in a situation that made you wish to never wake up again made me so incredibly sad for you. You are the kindest, most giving stranger I've ever known.
Your achievements these past few years have been incredible and I hope that 2026 is just as good.
She was just a little two year old when I started blogging! So you have been around for a long time. Thanks for being here with me!
I am so thrilled for you, Kristen, to have achieved so much. You should give yourself a huge pat on the back. A divorce. New Home. Going back to school. Tough at any age, but no walk in the park in our forties.
They say that the road to a better path starts with a single step. You were brave enough to take it when you left, at great sacrifice, on many levels to you. Whatever came afterwards was meant to be. So many women remain in unhappy marriages. Life is too short. Way too short to stay where you know you should no longer be.
It is joyous to see someone achieve so much from their hard work and commitment. I celebrate with you. And the car! Oh, how wonderful.
Here's to a healthy and happy New Year for one and all. May Peace be with everyone.
May humanity be restored in parts of the world where it has disappeared.
Congratulations on all your accomplishments this year. May 2026 bring you lots of happy experiences.
P.s. I too just bought a brand new Honda Civic Hybrid Sport, meteorite grey with light grey interior.
YAYYY!! So happy for you about your car!
As a long time reader, it has been so wonderful to watch your life transition and for you to BLOSSOM!
It is definitely inspirational to see all the work you've done to make your life what YOU wanted and to be reaching your goals!
Congratulations! I think 2026 will be a great year for you!
Nancy B.
Kristen- Cheering you on & proud of all you accomplished in 2025!
Thanks for hosting this beautiful space!
Happy New Year Kristen, Dear.
You are truly an inspiration on so many levels. And, exceptionally brave for sharing everything that you have with us over the year.
May the Goddess Bless and Keep you safe and happy, in 2026. I look forward to reading about your continued success and personal growth that you have worked so hard for.
I have enjoyed seeing your year of progress and success and I thank God for walking you through every path, good or bad. I look forward to seeing what 2026 brings!
I'm so happy to see you thriving!
2025 was a good year for me as well following a string of hard years. Starting in 2020 our family experienced COVID with the accompanying loss of support services and school for the kids, then our business severely contracted, our kids' school burned down, I had breast cancer, our daughter started having seizures and was diagnosed with intellectual disability and epilepsy, and I have bounced around academic jobs without finding a permanent job. I watched my dad descend into dementia and my mom suffer under the strain of his care. At times I feared for her safety. 2020-2024 was rough.
But in 2025 our business finally started to rebound, we paid off the debt we had accumulated in the last year, we enrolled our daughter in a school designed to fit her disabilities and she is doing so well, she has had no further seizures and even stopped wetting the bed (we think the bed wetting and seizures both came from the stress of trying to keep up with neurotypical peers), my doctors think I might be cancer free, and we went on three really amazing home exchanges: Nashville, a quiet beach town on Virginia's eastern shore, and NYC at Christmas. My dad has adjusted to the memory care unit we checked him into, and I sleep soundly knowing that they have the funds to cover his care and my mom can take better care of herself too.
Exactly one year ago today we were anxiously heading to the emergency room with our daughter, terrified of the future, the weight of the last few years on our whole family. Here we are a year later having recovered in so many ways. I am so deeply, deeply grateful.
@Amanda in VA, That is an incredible amount of stress you experienced. I’m glad things have gotten better for you and your family.
Goodness, you have been though so much!
Thanks guys. It is shocking even to me to write it all out like that. Praise God 2025 was better. Here's to pulling ourselves out of the mud that life sometimes throws at us.
Every time I read something you have written about how your life has changed it makes me smile. I feel like printing cards with the address for this blog/your story, to hand out to women going into the women's shelter, when they often feel most hopeless. It would be like giving them a flash light as they are entering what seems like a dark tunnel they will never leave.
Awww, that makes me smile. I hope that my online presence has reached some people who needed to see a light.
You deserve everything you've accomplished. It's been really uplifting and empowering to watch your journey.
We all knew you would land on your feet!
Not a fan of new's year's resolutions, but really like the idea of looking back at a year to think what I liked/learned during it. One helpful thing I learned is that I still prefer to plan my/our travels rather than use a tour service. The planning is more than 1/2 the fun! I'll save the tours for when I'm older. However, that said, I'm pushing myself to try new things/groups/experiences as I age in order to find new friends outside of work.
Ohh, I WISH I enjoyed the planning but I hate it.
Maybe you need to have people hire you!
It's been a joy seeing you blossom and succeed. It will keep getting better and better from here. Happy New Year. Best to you and your family.
I am so deeply happy for you!
My own 2025 has been good in many ways. I'm working through the pilot course of my online course for private music teachers on unlocking the creative potential of students with adhd - so far I've presented 3 out of 8 modules to a group of young teachers - and I've been amazed at how incredibly satisfying it is. I feel like it's the first time in my life I've done MY OWN work, and that now I can keep building on that in this amazing intersection between my passions that can hopefully ripple out and improve life for others.
I also turn 60 today! My family threw a wonderful party for me and I feel so loved. In many ways, life is very sweet. 🙂
Yay for you!
I am late to the party and thus cannot improve on, but can second, the eloquence of all the previous commenters. You are an inspiration and an important, intelligent and kind force in this world. It is impossible to overestimate the gift you are to many - in all the facets of your world. I am grateful to you and the commentariat - all are a source of encouragement and practical information. I am so glad to be a witness to your success and emergence of your true self.
If there ever was a year to deserve some navel-gazing, it is your 2025! What a big and full year for you. Fun to look back and celebrate them again.
I will add that a highlight of my 2025 was the FG Meetup! I loved putting faces to a few names I always see in the comments section, and my brain highlights when I see them on here ("Oh, I know her!"). I want to try attending this year as well if I'm able. It feels a bit like a family reunion that I will especially look forward to 😉
I have no idea what "navel-gazey" means. I loved this post. Also, does your new dream car have all wheel drive? After the blizzard we experienced this Monday (24 inches in 24 hours) it did have me wondering about the amount of snow you get where you live.
Haha, well, if someone engages in navel-gazing, it basically means they are spending a lot of time thinking about themselves. Like...staring at their own belly button.
We rarely get more than a few inches of snow here, so all-wheel drive is not a necessity!
@Kristen, we either thought you were a boss snow driver or had little snowfall. 🙂
I can manage ok in the snow (not ice, obviously), but the Mid-Atlantic has not provided me with enough practice to make me a boss at it. Ha.
Well done, Kristen!! Congratulations!! xo
Hey Kristen,
If Colorado is one of your 'missed' states, you are very welcome to come stay with us in the mountains! We live in southern Colorado, which is much quieter than the rest of the state, and very beautiful. Full of history, too. You can get here via DIA or Colorado Springs (and rent a car for the rest of the trip), or fly into Alamosa -- and we'll pick you up. The offer's open...
I actually crossed off Colorado as a kid because I have an uncle who lives there, and because we took some winter ski trips there! But thank you so much for the offer. 🙂
Sorry for commenting on such an old post, but this is the very last post on your blog that I can see. The archives don’t go beyond December 2025, and there aren’t any links at the bottom of the post to click forward or backward. I’ve tried reloading the home page, reloading this post, doing a Google search for January 2026….. I did see the first several January posts when you put them up and now I can’t get back to them.
I will fix it! Just need to finish this string of work shifts first 🙂
Hoping you can solve this soon. I miss your blog.
Meg! Can you try clearing the cookies/cache on your browser and see if it gets fixed that way?