Don’t get me wrong, 2025 had some great moments. My little sister got married, I went to a few concert’s, I was able to venture to a few new places. I really hate to be a downer, but 2025 was the worst year of my life (it makes 2019 look like a bad dream) and I have never been more excited for a New Year.
2025 started off as most years do; crippling seasonal depression leading to the time of year when I read the most books and sleep the most. There was one day in early March that the weather was really nice and my boss let me leave work early to go to the zoo with my best friend and her kids, so that was cool. But, on March 21, I was in the first car accident I had been in. I was stopped at a rail road track in my white 2015 Jeep Cherokee (this is important later) for a passing train while on my way to work when I was rear-ended. I had a cold and a car full of decorations for my sisters bridal shower the following weekend. It was a sunny day but it was cold. The guy that hit me just kept saying that he “couldn’t see”. He did make sure that I was okay, but seemed out of sorts. I waited outside on the side of the road with him while we waited for the police to get a report for my insurance company. I had figured I would drive my car away (there is a collision shop across the street from my house) so I told Nate not to come get me. We had been there with the police for quite a while, and I asked if I was good to leave since they gave me a case number and everything. That was when the cop had informed me that he had called a tow truck for my car because my car wasn’t “driveable” 🙄 I called my great grandparents who didn’t live too far away and were retired, so my great grandpa came to pick me up. The same car that called the tow truck offered to let me sit in his car to wait for my grandpa (again, I was sick and it was cold out),and then gave me a hard t ime about how long it was taking my grandpa to get there. After Grandpa and I got back to his house, I showed them pictures of my car and he said I should have told the cop no and driven my car home. I’ll be honest, having a cold and having never been in this situation, I didn’t know any better and didn’t really want to argue with a cop. I ended up calling off work and borrowing one of their vehicles to drive until I could find something new. Nate ended up leaving work early and meeting him at home. We went to the collision shop across the road and they tried all day to get in touch with the towing company that took my car to no avail. We made an appointment for Saturday to get my stuff out of the car before the insurance company came to pick it up on Monday (just another money grab on behalf of the tow company – NEVER let Star Towing in SE Michigan do anything with your vehicle). The insurance ended up giving me a little more than what I owed on that car so I could get a new Jeep.
I will say, the next week myself and a close family friend ended up throwing a beautiful Mexican jungle/fiesta themed bridal shower for my sister. There were so many beautiful (albeit fake) plants, a huge balloon arch, and so much wonderful food. I think all the guests had fun, and the food and decor came together so well.
I had found a black 2016 Jeep Cherokee at a Used Car dealer not far from my house a few weeks later. I was comfortable driving it since it was almost the same as my old Jeep, just a year newer, with less bells and whistles. I had the black Jeep for exactly 3 weeks, after driving my great grandpas old Chevy Avalanche for almost a month. Then, the day before I was supposed to drive myself and 3 of my sisters’ bridesmaids an hour and a half away for her bachelorette party, I was in another car accident while pulling into my driveway 😭
This accident messed me up quite a bit, mostly mentally. It was in the evening on May 8th, Nate was home from work and I was heading back after a run to the liquor store down the road for the party kick-off the next day. We live on a curve on a somewhat busy country road, where the speed limit is 45 mph but people often speed. I had slowed down and turned on my blinker to turn left into my driveway, and halfway through my turn, everything went white and I actually screamed. The next thing I know, my black Jeep is in my front yard, and instead of looking at the house, I see an old truck and some random guy panicking. Then Nate was at my passenger door, looking totally freaked out and asking me if I’m okay. I told him I thought I was, and he helped me climb out the passenger door. The guy who hit me said he didn’t notice I was slowing down until the last second, so he swerved. Unfortunately, he also hadn’t noticed my blinker and swerved the wrong way. The neighbor from across the street also came over to make sure everything was okay. Nate had called the cops and I went in the house to get some water and let him deal with whatever was going on outside at the time. The cop that came this time was much better, more patient and way better at communicating. Nate was able to drive the car into the driveway, and I called the insurance company yet again, to make another claim. They ended up picking up the car just minutes before my sister (who graciously stepped up to drive myself and the other bridesmaids I was supposed to drive) picked me up.
We had a very successful weekend trip for my sisters bachelorette trip! I plan to write a whole post about everything Maid of Honor related, so I don’t want to give too many details here. The weekend after that, my youngest sister and I had pit tickets to see Warren Zeiders in Sterling Heights, MI. I was driving Nate’s mom’s car for the time being, which made the drive there even more daunting. We had a wonderful time, but getting out of the parking lot almost sent me on a spiral. It was so unorganized and I thought everyone was going to hit us. Thankfully, once we got out of the venue, the rest of the drive was uneventful. It was late and very little traffic.
My sister’s wedding was a beautiful day! The weather was perfect, everyone worked together to get ready, and everything seemed to move smoothly. I will say my sister hired a day-of coordinator (Sarah with Torrick Events – https://torrickevents.com/ ) and they set up most of the decorations and handled all the vendors the day of the wedding and I think that really helped the bridesmaids be able to focus on ourselves and the beautiful bride. We went to Crosswinds Marsh for pictures, and returned to her beautiful backyard wedding.
In July, Nate and I added another state to the list of places I have been and went to Utah. We rode horses, went hiking, and watched some really fun Monster trucks. July is also the month I started this blog, even though it was a while before I had posted anything. My garden was doing okay, even though I don’t think my cherry tomatoes were as sweet as the year prior. I tried growing Brussels sprouts, which were great to photograph, but didn’t end up growing anything edible. We did get lots of cucumbers and made our own pickles.
I made a point to go to the Monroe County Fair this year, and actually ended up going twice! I didn’t go the year before, and went once for about an hour to see a horse I use to ride that was there, and grab some cheese sticks, and went back a different day to walk around with my youngest sister and my mom. I grew up as a 4-H kid, so the fair isn’t just about food for me like it for a lot of people. Its very nostalgic, and I love going around and seeing all the animals and crafts the kids have worked on for a year. In August, my sister, a family friend and I went to see Tyler Braden at a small, local venue. We had dinner beforehand, and the concert was amazing! Tyler Braden is one of my favorite singers, so seeing him live was something I had to do. My best friend had also asked me to help her coach her daughters little league cheer team with her, to which I said yes! I made sure she knew she would be teaching me and the girls, though, since I am so not a cheerleader 🤣 It ended up being a lot of fun, and a good distraction, and I’m so glad I did it.
My younger sister and I went to a concert closer to her that actually took place in a sunflower field in September, and it was a fun night! We saw Graham Barham and Redferrin. The unique venue was so fun, and had a couple food trucks to choose from. There were also a few fights we saw, which is always interesting 🙄 Unfortunately, the next morning was not a good one for my whole family, so I haven’t posted about that particular concert yet.
On September 14th, at around 1 pm, I got a phone call from my mom who was on vacation in Virginia. I had just tried to call her minutes before to see how her trip was going, so I didn’t think much of it before I picked up. But as soon as I did, I knew something was wrong. She told me she was on her way home because my grandpa had gone into cardiac arrest and the EMT’s couldn’t get his heart started again. He had been at home, about 2 hours from me, but was currently on his way to his local hospital. Nate I got in the car to head towards him as fast as we could. We hadn’t been in the car long before my mom called and said they had gotten his heart started again, but they were going to send him to Jackson hospital via helicopter for better care. Nate and I went straight there and waited for him and the rest of the family. They had to wait a few days before they could do any testing to see what would happen next, and Nate and I had plans to go to Mexico for my 30th birthday on the 17th. I had cheer practice on Monday after work, so I didn’t got to the hospital that day. I did end up leaving work early on Tuesday to go to the hospital, and I was there until pretty late. There were only 2 people allowed to be in the room with Grandpa in the ICU at a time, so most of the family was in the waiting room and taking turns to spend time with him. I had said my goodbyes to everyone around 9:30, and had never prayed so hard that he would still be there when I came back from vacation. I made my mom promise to call me on messenger if anything happened. We made it to Mexico on September 17th, had dinner and went to bed. The next day, we just hung out around the resort, exploring the beach, restaurants, and pools at the resort. I may have spent a little too much time at the swim up bar, and went back to our room to take a nap. After my nap, I was about to get in the shower before dinner when my mom called me. The tests they had done on Grandpa didn’t go well, and they took him off life support. He passed away in the hospital surrounded by his wife, a couple of his brothers, and his children.
When I got home from Mexico, someone very close to me (I wont say who to protect their privacy) called to see how my trip was. They also had to tell me that they had cancer again, but didn’t say anything because of everything else I had going on that week. I also have to mention that my sister threw me a surprise 30th birthday party at her house in early October, which I loved! She made stuff for tacos, invited some friends over, and we had a bon fire. It was a great night! 😍
I really think for most of the 6 weeks following my grandpa’s death and news of my other family member’s cancer, I was just on autopilot: cheer practice after work every Monday and Wednesday, games every Saturday, keeping up with the house work on the other days. My garden was still attempting to produce at this point, so I was also trying to nurse that for as long as I could. I had spent a few days with my Grandma, and had gone to a gender reveal party for a close friend of mine. October 25th was the last cheer event for the year, and after that, my mental health absolutely fell apart. Everything and nothing made me cry. I couldn’t get enough sleep. I was sad all the time. I know Nate was frustrated, but he was there for me. He had even bought me a huge bottle of vitamin D, a tub of ice cream, and some flowers. Of course, I cried. I started feeling a little better, but what really brought me out was a day in the woods with my dogs. I had requested November 17th off a few months beforehand, since it’s National Hiking Day. That just so happened to be when I was starting to feel less depressed, so it could not have come at a better time. The girls and I ended up hiking 6 miles that day and helped me come back to my normal self.
Then, on November 20th, while I was at work, I was walking down the stairs and tripped. I took a few steps and tried to catch myself. Unfortunately for me, my hands were full so I wasn’t able to grab the railing. Then, about 3 steps from the landing, I heard something in my right leg snap, and I fell the remaining steps. I had to call a coworker to come help me, and she brought my boss with her. They ended up calling an ambulance for me to go to the ER, because I thought for sure I had broken my leg. Nate met me in the ER, and I got some x-rays. They told me I didn’t have any breaks, but a contusion, and it would take a long time to heal. They gave me crutches and sent me home. I used them at home for a few days, and returned to work 5 days later. Then, on Thanksgiving day we flew to Seattle to spend the holiday with Nate’s sister and her boyfriend. We had such a fun time in Seattle, despite my hobbling.
2 weeks after Seattle, my knee was still swelling pretty bad and very uncomfortable. Because it was a workers comp claim, it took me a week of emails and 3 sobbing phone calls to various HR employees before I figured out what I had to do to get it looked at again. That doctor ordered an MRI, but I wasn’t able to get an appointment for 2 weeks. In that time, Nate and I had a quiet Christmas at home with his mom, after I took the girls for our first hike since my injury. We went almost a mile in the morning, before the park got too busy. I went for my MRI on December 29th, and thankfully Nate drove since it ended up being during a snowstorm in an area that I don’t like driving in under good condition before I had 2 car accidents. For New Years Eve, Nate and I went to my grandma’s house for family Christmas, which also happened to be a snowstorm on our way home. Now that I think about it, it was a kind of symbolic close to 2025.
I even thought for a minute that 2025 was also trying to ruin 2026 with the MRI results I got late on January 1st. Since I’m still writing this on January 22, I can let everyone know now that I completely tore my ACL, partially tore my miniscus, sprained a bunch of other ligiments, and fractured the tibial plateau in my right knee. The doctor I saw on January 2nd read the first part of my diagnosis and said, “You need surgery, we can’t help you. I’ll write you a referral.” Naturally I panicked for a week before my appointment with the specialist. When I got to that appointment, this doctor made me feel so much better. He seems confident that with some physical therapy, my knee will be okay and I can maybe avoid surgery. So stay tuned for that saga! 🙄
I really try to be a positive, optimistic, and upbeat kind of person. I can acknowledge the good things that happened: the fun trips, starting this blog, concerts, family time. I really owe my sanity to those that love me, for taking care of me when I’m down and listening to me cry (which was a lot), including Nate, my mom, my sister, my great grandparents, and even my coworkers at times. But when its all said and done, 2025 chewed me up, spit me out, and stepped on me for good measure. It has taught me new fears, given me new worries, took someone I loved, and even left some physical evidence in its wake. So far, January has been giving 2026 a hopeful glow. I’m just laying low for now, taking my vitamin D and doing my physical therapy like my mental health depends on it (because it actually kind of does). I’m looking forward to some more concerts this year, a couple different trips we are planning, and doing some great hiking. I’m so excited for it to stop snowing and for the sun to come back, so I can plant my garden, work on the curb appeal of the house, and not have to wear 7 layers every time I walk out the door. I have also been throwing around the idea of painting the inside of the house. 2026 is looking hopeful so far, and I’ve never been more excited to say goodbye to an old year. 🥂
