What happened in 2025

a list

And here we are, turning the corner into 2026! I can see 2025 on her bike in my rear view, waving frantically for me to slow down, but no dice. We’re done with you, 2025—but here’s a list of things I want to remember from a very stressful, blessed year.

In 2025 I…

Survived the Bedbug War of ‘24-’25. A doozy I would not wish to repeat, but which made for a pretty good story.

Gave birth to our fourth baby (third son), Caspian.

About a week after that, our daughter went to the ER to get stitches in her forehead.

I turned 28!

Had three of my poems published in I’ve Got a Bad Case of Poetry, a children’s poetry anthology from Bandersnatch Books, along with my mom and sister and a bunch of other magnificent poets!

Went to the zoo and the botanical gardens and the playground a million times.

Got a real backsplash put in in the kitchen (my husband, Zac, loves me).

Read so many poems to my kids (favorites include hist, whist by E. E. Cummings, The Man From El Dorado by Robert Service, and Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll)

and so many books (they loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Junie B. Jones, Journey by Aaron Becker, and How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long).

Visited the Shire for my sister’s 30th birthday (and by the Shire I mean a nearby state park with a pavilion that looked magical with Hobbity decor and a bunch of children in waistcoats and flower crowns running around).

Went on my first spring break trip with college students since starting to work in campus ministry.

Watched Zac baptize a friend at our church.

Helped plan my mom’s 50th birthday bash, which went off really well even though it rained the whole time.

Drank 10,000 cups of tea.

Started giving a friend piano lessons—and discovered teaching adults is really fun!

Celebrated the 4th annual Hogsmeade Day, a holiday my sister and I invented to commemorate our shared love of Harry Potter.

Dressed the whole family up as Mario characters for Halloween (and got hardly any pictures, dangit).

Read 26 books.

Kept my substack alive for another year, and even had a poem featured on an episode of SDG Morgan’s great podcast, Bammerhab.

Picked up an old novel manuscript. I’ve made a goal to finish it in 2026 (wish me luck. and better sleep. and resolve.)!

Played piano and sang with my children (some favorites were Humpty Dumpty, Jingle Bells, and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe)

painted a lil nutcracker

got Zac a PS5 for Father’s Day (I’ve never seen him so happily surprised)

beat Zac at like one game of Magic (which is way more impressive than it sounds)

ate a bunch of pizza

joined the choir at church

threw our 4th annual Coté New Year’s Eve party

got bangs

and learned that the candy cane stitch covers a multitude of sins.

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2026.