Shinn the Writer

Another One in the Books

 

So New Year’s Day has now come and gone. The Sun came up in the east, Trump is still in the White House, and my spam filter still can’t get things right. No super dramatic changes as I said goodbye to the old and hello to the new.

 

I stayed up to greet 2026, even switched from the movie I was watching to see Ryan Seacrest and Anderson Cooper describe the Times Square ball drop. Earlier in the day I had bought one of those quarter-sized bottles of “sparkling wine” (aka Champagne) a disappointing Lamarca prosecco rosé and at about a minute from the ball drop, I poured it into one of the Champagne glasses I keep for the purpose. When I developed a-fib, I cut back to two glasses of wine (or comparable alcoholic beverage) per week, and Wednesday is a routine day for this activity, so New Year’s Eve being on a Wednesday was like a good omen.

 

Midnight came, the ball dropped, and stepping out onto my porch, I drank the wine. In deference to my neighbors, I didn’t shout “Happy New Year!” opting to let them sleep. I didn’t hear others shouting either. There were rumblings in the distance, but they may have been just real thunder. It had been raining most of the day, and I couldn’t tell the difference, though I suspect that at least some of the rumbling was the sound of celebratory firecrackers and such. Either way, it was still cold and damp, so I went back into my house and watched a bit more of the movie. Having seen Harry Potter several times before, I soon went to bed.

 

But I finished 2025 with a bit of a different attitude than in years past. Like most (if you believe many of the Facebook posts) say that it’s good riddance to the prior year and that it should be easy to have a better one the following year. Then we’re disappointed when we find it’s the same old place. We repeat this every year. Well, not this year. It was singer Roger Miller who many years ago sang “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.”

 

What was good about 2025? 

• Well, my grandnephew Wesley became officially engaged to Brea, and will be married late 2026. They’re both wonderful, and I wish them the very best. 

• I finally had my bathroom remodeled. An unexpected wrinkle came about when the county inspector went beyond the bathroom and wanted me to put smoke detectors in both bedrooms and a smoke/CO2 detector in the hall. I used the opportunity to also upgrade my living room device. I’ll have the final inspection next week.

• Ny niece Linda finished her program (MS Social Work) and is now gainfully employed in that field. 

• I finally reached my goal of getting under 185 pounds. There’s still work to do, but I did make it. (See the “Physical” section of this website.)

• I finally finished the song “Center of Town” to where I can perform it in public.

• My band played at the Solano Stroll.

• I made it out to add my presence to “No Kings Day”. ​