My decision to write a review of 2025 started out as a way to regurgitate my end-of-year anger and depression. The bad things, listed below, flew off the tips of my fingers and onto the printed page. But the good ones? I had to look through my calendar to hunt for them. And, to my surprise, the positives were numerous.
REVIEW OF 2025 LOW POINTS
- My body got carved up with a second knee replacement surgery and skin cancer surgery.
- Hitting a deer and wrecking my car was a first.
- My husband stayed in the hospital and rehab for six weeks, causing my caretaking duties to increase significantly.
- My first case of COVID hit in the middle of my surgery and my husband’s hospitalization.
- I had to cancel a trip to a book conference and a visit to my brother in Colorado.
- Friends died, and friends moved away because they could no longer stay in their homes.
REVIEW OF 2025 HIGH POINTS
- I traveled to Las Vegas with my daughters and brother to receive an award from PenCraft for my novel, Tough Trail Home, as the Womens Fiction Genre’s First Place winner for 2024.
- My daughter and I went to Waco for her Christmas gift and did the Chip and Johanna Gaines pilgrimage.
- My daughters and I celebrated my birthday in Memphis.
- My best friend joined me at the Black Rose Author Fest in San Antonio, where we had a good meal and a massage.
- My newest work, The Refugees: Family Threads, was accepted for publication by Black Rose Writing.
- My husband is home and doing well.
REVIEW OF 2025 WHY SO NEGATIVE?
According to verywellmind, humans tend to register negative occurrences more quickly and dwell on them. Basically, the negatives make a bigger impact on us than the positives. The bad things grab us and stick with us, influencing future decisions we make.
REVIEW OF 2025 OMINOUS CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON
Dark clouds loom on the horizon, however. If you’ve followed me over the years, you know I have had a running battle with mice. The last time they invaded my space was in June 2024. If you’d like to catch up on the woman-versus-mouse saga, I’ve listed them below.
Mousecapades: Marginalized Voices
The bastards are baaaack! Not in the house, but they are attacking my husband’s new Ford Explorer. They leapt into the engine compartment and ate the rubber insulation on the underside of the hood, leaving their tell-tale pellets covering the top of the motor. Apparently, they really love the wiring insulation that is now soy-based rather than petroleum-based.
Even worse, they made it into the interior of the car, making themselves at home on the console. (OK, I confess. When we get our morning tacos, the interior is our dining room as going inside is too difficult for my husband. They must have smelled the salsa on the small scissors I use to cut the plastic bag it comes in.)
In the 22 years we have lived in the country, I have had only one other mouse issue. The monster climbed into my air conditioning vent and died. Now, I will be entering a life and death battle because I can’t put poison in the car for fear they might die there.
Frankly, I believe the Mouse King and Emperor Orange Hair are colluding to punish me for participating in No Kings Day. Their cabal is most likely spying on me from the local pizza parlor, just waiting to initiate a major attack on the vehicle. I must be vigilant.
LAST THOUGHTS ON THE REVIEW OF 2025
This year, although it gets low rankings, is not the worst year of my life, so I have something to be thankful for. I will set intentions to pay more attention to the positives and to write lots of words for the next novel. Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2026.
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