2025 Was Quite a Year

I am not one to do New Years resolutions. I find I just break my own promise within a few days or weeks anyway, so why start out with a lie to myself!

Rather, I have evolved over time to live each day to its fullest and take each day as it comes. After all, everyone likes a surprise. Always ready to pivot as life throws its inevitable curves our way.

Spending New Years Eve at the cottage, with good friends Mark and Sue Kocaurek, January 1st brought a surplus of hope and anticipation for a better year in our world, than the last. Though sorting through the mess that has become of our neighbours to the south has added some strain to our collective lives here in the cold cold north. So far we have managed to mostly maintain our dignity and morals along the way.

Geoff and Martha were due to deliver a brother for Lewis, in late April. We love them all dearly, but the timing changed our vacation plans. Originally we were planning on a cruise along the Adriatic shoreline, exploring Croatia, Italy and Greece. However, as it turned out, our newest grandson was likely to arrive mid-cruise.

Shifting directions, we decided on South Africa instead – a years long dream of mine. I have written extensively about that trip in previous posts.

One of the unexpected consequences of changing our plans, was to have met some amazing people and new friends as a result. From Newfoundland to Ottawa, to Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, South Carolina and Colorado, New South Wales, Australia and Swaziland, South Africa. At our core, we are so much alike and have so much to offer each other. What a treat it was to get to know these terrific human beings.

My hope is that 2026 allows us the opportunity to reconnect with many of them. One can never have enough good friends.

February brought my 70th birthday – sheesh, where did that time go? I still think I am 40, act 17 and feel 85 some days. The triumvirate of mixed feelings, often on the same day. It’s like experiencing a typical Canadian fall day. Cold morning, hot afternoon, rainy evening and miserable night. The best of all seasons rolled into 24 hours.

March, as always, brought anticipation of the summer ahead – knowing we were less than 8 weeks away from opening the cottage for a new season. Karen starts packing in earnest by late March. It makes her feel like winter has been defeated and the smell of spring is around the next corner.

April did indeed deliver the newest member of our family and 5th grandson – Roman Murray Wolfe – soon to become Romie. What a blessing he is. He has been smiling almost since the day he was born. A physique like the proverbial brick shithouse and always in a good mood – built like his dad and temperament like his Papa.

It almost makes you uncomfortable as he seems like he knows something you don’t know. Maybe when he starts talking we will know what it is?!

May through October was a blur. One would think that life slows down as you get older and particularly when you spend 5 months on the lake. But it sure doesn’t seem that way. One month leads to the other – and next thing you know its fall.

Visitors, boating, cocktails. A little maintenance to break things up and to force me off my favourite deck chair. It is certainly our personal Utopia.

July brought visits from Lauren, Mark and 3 year old grandson Ben. Our walking encyclopedia grandson, informed me that he saw a rainbow one night while he was sleeping at the cottage – in his amygdala – Look it up. I had to.

Also, long time friend Lori Smith was in the area and stopped by for a visit. Smitty will always be one of my favourite people.

Favourite Sister and Brother in law, Janette and Keith Snyder dropped by for their annual visit. Like Karen, her sister Janette thinks she is very funny. Reality is I am still the King of Komedy in this family. It will be a long time for these pretenders to take my crown.

October brought Geoff’s birthday. Following in a loosely established 40th birthday tradition, he was treated to a belly dancer.

Mid October brought us our long anticipated trip to South Africa. We had to close the cottage a couple of weeks early to accommodate the travel schedule, but it was well worth it.

If our stated mantra has been to “make memories”, we were true to ourselves and accomplished that goal in spades. New friends, new adventures and new appreciation for our lives here in Canada. We are infinitely blessed.

Home for just a few days, November was upon us, and brought me to our annual deer hunting trip, 5 hours north of home. Always as much a bonding week with my son(s), as it is to harvest an animal, we were nonetheless successful in both endeavours.

More memories were made, through laughter and the hijinx that inevitably follow men when they spend an extended time together away from home, without abiding by social norms mere mortals must follow.

The end of deer hunting signals the rush to Christmas and this year, an earlier (and much colder) winter than in recent years. Stringing lights, putting up the Christmas tree, shopping, paying visa bills and spending time with friends and loved ones.

We are looking forward to the excitement of our grandchildren as they anticipate the big fat guy in the red suit leaving untold wonders under the tree.

It is a wonderous time of the year. If only we could treat each other this way all year round!

To those of you that take the time to read my words throughout the year – thank you. It is humbling to know that you take a few minutes from time to time to accommodate my ramblings.

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy Hanukah etc. Celebrate the holidays in the way your traditions dictate.

Love deeply. Treat everyone with the respect we all deserve. Undertake random acts of kindness now and throughout the year ahead. We can all use some lifting up from time to time.

If I were a beauty pageant contestant, I would wish for world peace! Ahh heck, maybe I will anyway. Goodness knows I will never be anyone’s idea of a beauty.

Let’s all wish for world peace! For Ukraine. For Gaza. For Venezuela. For all those under tremendous stress and simply trying to survive.

Its hard to reconcile our largesse, when others are so hungry and so terrified.

Be kind!

From my family to yours – Wishing everyone the very best throughout 2026. May it be your best year yet.