Things I Learned in 2025

Happy New Year! Here are some random thoughts on 2025 .

Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the Universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety, and life to everything. It is the essence of order and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful. - Plato

Plato nailed it.

The addition of Pips to the assortment of the daily NYTimes Games energizes my dominoes-loving inner child. 

I quickly morphed into being a Sporty Spice when tickets for Super Bowl LIX were purchased hours before the big game in NOLA. 

Being in the Superdome to witness the Birds eviscerate the Kansas City Chiefs in February defines bliss.

Can someone send word to Taylor and Travis that I am patiently waiting for the nod to be their officiant? (Pay no attention to my previous Super Bowl musings)

Despite the above sports entries, I am, as the kids say, sports adjacent.

Hospitals are stressful labyrinths. Hospital volunteers are stress-relieving angels.

It is unclear why anyone would move out of the state of Colorado – she is magnificent!

Choosing the wrong option when trying to transfer my Apple iphone photos to my Microsoft Surface laptop resulted in the loss of thousands of photos. It is a massive disappointment. It is also strangely liberating.

A muffuletta sandwich from New Orleans Central Grocery & Deli is the closest I will ever come to sandwich paradise. (I see you DiNics roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe!)

I believe in magic when a couple marry at ages 73 and 74 and describe their delight this way: Sometimes love comes and gives you a fairytale!

Officiating is magical.

Combining vodka and many vanilla beans makes homemade vanilla extract. Leave the bottle sit in a cool, dry place for 6-12 months and voila! Best kitchen hack.  

Driving around Albuquerque, NM, visiting various filming locations used in Breaking Bad re-ignited my obsession with that show.

Having your kitchen knives professionally sharpened is a culinary imperative. (I'm embarrassed to say how infrequently I've had it done.)

Keeping a box of Band-Aids near said knives is also an imperative. 

What we run from pursues us. What we face transforms us.                        Author David Kessler on grief.

While taking a sheet of cookies out of the 400-degree oven, one of my earbuds fell into the crease between the door and oven. Fishing it out quickly while avoiding third-degree burns took unknown dexterity. 

Bonus: that earbud was unphased and is working properly.

Country singer Luke Combs was not on my list of ‘must-see’ artists until he closed Saturday’s performances at the Newport Folk Festival. His vulnerability and beautifully curated set turned me into a fan.

Big Bend National Park is, well, BIG! Texas is BIG. That’s right – my first visit in February confirmed what I’ve been told my entire life.

Regarding Texas politics - pfffft. 

Hospice workers elevate humanity when we are at our most vulnerable. 

Preparing your parents’ home of 47 years for sale is a bittersweet labor of love that also includes a strange exhale on settlement day.

MAGA is outsized white folk fear untethered. It worships a convicted felon. It terrorizes immigrants and defaces democracy. I am tired of re-learning this every darn day. Mid-term elections are coming.

Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution” is a respectful study of all aspects of how this country was colonized and the global impact – warts and all. It should be required viewing in every HS History class.

Author Wally Lamb taught creative writing at York Correctional Institution for Women for over 20 years, facilitating writing workshops that led to published anthologies. 

Thanks to the Merriam-Webster daily Instagram posts, these words are new to me:

Librocubicularist – (this is me) n. A person who reads in bed. From the Latin 'liber' (“book”) and 'cubiculum' (“bedroom”). The word was originally coined by Christopher Morley in his novel 'The Haunted Bookshop' (1919).

Psithurism – (glorious nature!) n. Greek. The sound of wind in the trees and the rustling of leaves.

Kakistocracy – (MAGA) n. government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state. A state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens. 

This new-to-me bird is described perfectly by this humorous content creator:

                                                            

Taking us into 2026, glorious Patti Smith reminds us who has the power. I have this on repeat. 

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Raul Malo’s voice may have been silenced this year, but it lives on in the ethers. Treat yourself to 6+ minutes of his soulful baritone and guitar licks singing Blue Moon with The Mavericks.  

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Spoken word poet, Andrea Gibson, appropriately has the final say to close out this post. She died at age 49 in July. Please read any of her books or watch any of her performances via youtube videos.  

She is lightning. 

I know you think this world is too dark to even dream in color

but I've seen flowers bloom at midnight

I've seen kites fly in gray skies

and they were real close to looking like the sunrise,

and sometimes it takes the most wounded wings

the most broken things

to notice how strong the breeze is,

how precious the flight.

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Dear Reader ~ If you've made it this far into this annual vanity post, bless you! I am grateful and humbled to have your attention. Here's to a satisfying start to 2026. Let love and truth be our guide.