i'm ending 2025 without a neat, little takeaway. unfortunately, nothing that can be tied up in a bow. some things became clearer, others weren't. a few things asked for patience i didn't know i had, and some answers never arrived at all. this wasn't a year that rewarded things i was used to. what did change, though, was my relationship with understanding. i learned that not everything around us needs to be processed immediately and not everything benefits from being explained

six years ago, on december 1, 2019, the first known case of what we now call covid-19 was recorded. nobody knew that a single diagnosis, something that was quiet, remarkable, barely noticed outside one hospital, would ripple outward and reshape the entire world as we see it. it didn't come with sirens, or headlines, or global panic right away though. it arrived softly, almost invisible. and then everything changed. six years later, it is strange to look back and remember life

thanksgiving has often been painted in warmer tones. we have longer tables with comfort food laid out in front of us, loud rooms full of people who feel like our home. it is a holiday that allows us to pause, to take a deep breath, and to name the things that we are grateful for. and yet for many of us, gratitude does not show up alone. it arrives hand-in-hand with something that seems much quieter, but more complicated. grief. maybe this year looks different for you than yea