2026 Welcome!

2025 was a year spent living in fight or flight mode. It truly was the year of the snake.

In January my dog died very unexpectedly. Waking up every day and remembering my best friend was never coming back took me through months of heartbreak and darkness. The tears that flowed every night were the only thing that eased my pain.

Within a few months of her death, a fire broke out in our home, and we had to move out for some time. The fire brought me feelings of fear and displacement.

Then shortly after moving back home, our beloved cat passed away.

I was not the only one to lose someone I loved this year. The news of loss came many times from different friends and family members. Loss seemed to be unending.

I am thankful for those who were there for me. You carried me when I could not move, and encouraged me when I felt alone. You understood my deep love for animals and that I did not just lose a pet when Maggie died, I lost a family member. I am forever grateful.

Some say animals don't go to Heaven. However, Pope Paul VI said, "One day we will again see our animals in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God's creatures".

2025 was also a year of letting go, of transformation. A year of change.

Ironically, I feel like I passed through a fire. A fire I thought would destroy me, burn me out. It did not. As with a snake, 2025 shed away parts of my life that were too heavy to hold on to any longer. A transformation began, and I emerged on the other side, powerful, driven and someone different. 2026, you gallop in like a horse. I feel strong, powerful and know there is a fierceness carrying me into the next chapter of my life. Not everyone may understand or like the choices I make and that is OK. I can't wait!

Above all... 2026, where the true version of me has been waiting.