New Year’s Eve 2025/New Year’s Day 2026

Endings and Beginnings

I stop what I am doing to “admire, admire the things of the world,” as Mary Oliver is wont (not a spelling error) to say. I took this banner photo the first week of January, seven years ago, when I was more actively out and about in the winter. Today, this first day of the New Year, is stunningly beautiful, and it is cold, cold, cold. As much as I desire to go stomping around the arboretum, I am resisting the call. So I went looking in my photo library instead for pre-existing January scenes.

That rabbit hole had me delving deeper and deeper into New Year’s past, with memories on both coasts, or rather, the West Coast and what is considered central Canada. (Ontario and Quebec) It is an interesting exercise to look back and be reminded of the mysterious twists and turns in our journey that have brought us to today, Jan 1, 2026.

Even though every day is the first day, if you see life that way, there is something particular about the first days of the New Year. It’s fun to dream a little about the varied possibilities that this new year might offer and the ideas we hope to put into action.

New Year’s Eve

Last night, my grandson and I shared what has become our fourth or fifth annual New Year’s ritual. We go for Japanese dinner at our favourite restaurant, Kiko’s; follow it with a reflective practice such as a tea ceremony or, this year, five questions for consideration; watch a Tom Hanks movie; and end with the grand finale at midnight: lemon sugar crêpes, freshly made by Rowan. From the transom windows in the living room, we can see the fireworks at Lansdowne Park while we eat our crêpes and talk with family on the West Coast.

I do not take these moments for granted, nor do I fear their ending, which inevitably will come. Admiring the things of this world, as Mary Oliver urges, is wise counsel and offers a lifetime of memories. ​

These recent celebrations with my grandson feel like the perfect way to close one year and step into the next. The wide span between our ages only adds to the charm, and I delight in how naturally we have found traditions that suit us both.

New Year’s Day

Fresh starts, a clean slate, new beginnings, resolutions, intentions – you name it. We all know how it works, and many of us no longer fall for the resolution games. However, I do have aspirations for my new year. A few things that matter to me that I would like to complete. The difference is in the angle of view. I am thoughtful about how I set these up so that I don’t fall prey to the unsustainable. Truthfully, I am inclined to lower my expectations in January and ramp them up in the spring. However, I can’t quite go into full hibernation mode.

Overall, I start a new year with realistic optimism. I don’t make unreasonable expectations of myself or others, and I keep my new priorities to three things. I already know that I will take care of what I am responsible for, but the things that are aspirational for me alone are more vulnerable. That is why I limit them to three: one writing project, one strength training habit and one shredding project. These three ordinary projects matter to me, and I will review them periodically and adapt accordingly.

Strictly Personal

A dear friend’s husband died this week. He was a friend of mine as well, and his death is an enormous loss for his beloved family and all who knew him. There is no formulaic response to the death of someone dearly loved; each person grieves in their own way and in their own time, and there is no “right” way to do this. Love and loss are two sides of the same coin. In this case, it is a true love story, without padding or frills to make it look easy, marked instead by the rough and tumble of living with outstretched arms, through thick and thin, staying fully alive no matter what. My heart is with the family, and my gratitude overflows for all that I have experienced, learned, and received over these past fifteen years. One quiet gift in all of this is the graceful leaving in sleep; it could have been otherwise.

For all of you who have experienced the loss of a loved one this season, please accept my condolences. Even though death is inevitable for all of us, when it happens to someone we know and love there is always an element of shock and finality, braided together with the pain of loss.

As always

Every New Year’s, I post this poem and commentary from an old friend. It reminds me once again how connected we are and about not carrying old hurts into the new year.

Fifteen years ago, my friend Patsy, now deceased, sent me the following stanza by poet Marge Piercy from her poem, The Spring Offensive of the Snail. She also added this note, which continues to inspire me. “This is a great poem to start off the New Year. There is a ceremony among some Indigenous people which involves throwing water over their backs seven times. In doing so, they wash away any habits or thoughts that are no longer beneficial for growth.  People forgive those who have harmed them and ask forgiveness of those they have harmed.  Now they are ready to start the year anew.”

“…But remember to bury
all old quarrels
behind the garage for compost.
Forgive those who insulted you.
Forgive yourself for being wrong.
You will do it again
for nothing living
resembles a straight line,
certainly not this journey
to and fro, zigzagging
you there and me here
making our own road onward
as the snail does…”   excerpt from Marge Piercy’s poem, The Spring Offensve of the Snail

I hope that this new year will be filled with many meaningful moments of joy, purpose, courage, solace, generosity, health, awareness, adventures, laughter and lots of time with the ones you love. Let’s not forget to stay open to the element of surprise. We never know what might happen around the corner.

There is always a door:

Furthurmore, it has been my experience that there is always a door. Help arrives during times of distress and great difficulty. Sometimes, we don’t even need to ask for help—it arrives unbidden. And sometimes, we need to seek it out—knock on doors, write letters, make calls.

Even our proactiveness doesn’t imply that we solve the problem. Yet, we often find comfort, strength, and new information. It is essential to seek out what you need. Sometimes, the locked door opens, even a crack, allowing light to enter. Sometimes, it doesn’t, and yet, our efforts and the efforts of others keep us from being alone and can provide moments of comfort.

2026 awaits us with 365 brand new pages for our book of life. Let’s live them entirely, in the best way we know how. “Zigzagging (along) you there, me here…as the snail does.”

Above all, never forget that healing can happen, even when a cure doesn’t.

Japan

A special note of thanks and remembrance for my dear Japanese friends, who welcomed my daughter and me to Japan in October, just fourteen months ago. Their kindness, generosity, practical help, and steadfast friendship held us through a very difficult time in my life. I cannot fully express the depth of my appreciation, but I am, and will remain, forever grateful.

Akemashite Omedetō Gozaimasu (あけましておめでとうございます

With love and gratitude to all of you, my dear readers, and a thousand good wishes for you all. Trudy