Reflecting on 2025

1.What were the highlights or accomplishments of the past year?

 I’d have to say, the highlight was our trip to Alberta at the end of August. It’s been many years since we’ve been out to visit our son and his family, so it was long overdue! Another highlight in early August was our Blair sibling reunion, with just one brother not in attendance. We know that this is very likely the last time we’ll all be together on this earth.b Our biggest accomplishment was creating a beautiful yard here at the little red roof cottage. Another accomplishment has been our dietary changes. Brian has lost 55 lbs and I’ve lost 28. But weight loss wasn’t the main goal, health improvement was. We are both feeling much better and even though I had an episode while hiking in the mountains, I know there’s no way I could have even made it a little way up that trail last year!

 2. What were the major themes of the past year? 

Similar to last year, and every year, the main theme was working on projects. The previous year we were working on our new home, but this year we worked on the yard. We turned an empty lot into a beautiful landscaped fenced yard with lots of places to sit and have coffee.

 3. What disappointments or regrets did you experience?

 No regrets, but a lot of sadness. My oldest brother has been on palliative care at home for some time now. We’re so thankful for the visits we’ve been able to have and we’re praying for a lot more time. In November, brother #4 went into hospital with extremely high blood sugar, pneumonia and probably a heart attack, and had a triple bypass on Christmas Eve. December 17 we heard that brother #2 had been rushed to HSC with a major brain bleed. At the time of this writing, he is out of the coma and off the ventilator and showing improvement. The same day we heard brother #3 is having surgery in January for bladder cancer. We’re praying daily for each of my brothers.

 4. What was missing from the past year?

 It’s been a busy year as always, but I don’t feel like anything was missing. We’ve enjoyed working on various projects, and we’re looking forward to the coming year. 

 5. What did you learn from the past year?

 I learned that life is very short and we never know when a loved one may be taken from us and we should make the most of the time we have together