How do you feel about this year coming to an end? I think no matter who you ask the answer will be “I’m glad it’s over…too much stress”. No matter what may have been going on for you personally it was eclipsed by what was going on in the country and the world. So hard to believe that there were issues that were splitting families and causing people to lose friends. I personally chose to keep my thoughts to myself when I was with people I cared about who had an opposite view. This is when many people made decisions to “stay or go”. I chose to stay and maybe their views will change, and we can once again find common ground. There is just too much history to just let it go.

This brings me to what I always do in the last week of the year. I reflect on my own year and I think about the year ahead of me. I also pick a word. or in this year’s case words, that I will live with for 2025. My words for 2025 are FOCUS, DETERMINATION, and COMMITMENT. These are words that I can relate to my personal growth as well as trying to keep the world on track.

For myself, I want to have my life be meaningful and worthwhile. This takes focus, determination and commitment. This year I did rather well at getting my mojo back. I had several trips that took me to 7 countries. 5 of the 7 countries were new stops for me. It was a fantastic year of travel. I know that Tom would be very happy that I extended myself and got back to what I love to do. Travel and photography are my passions. The record remains at 2019 when Tom and I went to 8 countries in 1 year. Maybe I’ll break that record someday. It is still very hard for me to keep moving forward without Tom but one cannot live with thinking that what you have is not enough. It is enough to be happy and have amazing people in your life who you could call at 3:00 AM if you needed to!

This year part of my focus will be getting used to saying “I not WE” and “ME not US”. Still working on that.

I plan on extending my volunteering to continue to give back to my church and my community.

As far as the country goes I think my word choices are good too. If you want something to change then do something about it. Volunteer and join others to work on improving the world for everyone. We are all-in-this-together as they say. Find that common ground. We need to come together to make this a better place for our grandchildren.

As I always say at this time of year, I hope that life brings surprises to you. Be open to receive them. And be the light in someone’s life. The benefit of helping someone will astound you.

Happy New Year.

It is always interesting to see what color is selected as “the color of the year”. For 2025 the color Mocha Mousse has been selected. Pantone selected ‘…Mocha Mousse, a warming brown hue imbued with an inherent richness that nurtures with its suggestion of the delectable quality of cacao, chocolate and coffee, appealing to our desire for comfort”. There are 5 color palettes. You will see these palettes throughout fashion and home interiors. There are some beautiful colors presented for 2025. It makes you look at shades of brown in a way that you may not have viewed it before! See how Mocha Mousse sits in each palette.

As I always say, enjoy color! It can put a new spin on your day.

The first palette is “Uniquely Balanced”.

Next is “Deliciousness”

The 4th palette is “Subtle Contrasts”

And the last palette is “Relaxed Elegance”