i know i say this every year, but it feels wild that it’s 2025.

as i said in my 2024 recap, i am both thrilled to see the end of that year and also a little terrified of what’s to come in this one. i’m hoping the job market recovers and i’m able to find a job soon. i’m worried about the incoming administration and the changes they will seek that will harm a lot of people i care about. i worry about the health and safety of my family and friends and hope they will make it through the year safely. i hope to get myself out of some ruts and create some healthy new habits.

we’re going into this year very gently and hoping for the best and also not putting too much pressure on ourselves. i have a few goals for this year, but i’m keeping the number low and hopefully setting myself up for success. i have lots of thoughts and ideas swimming around in my head, and also i’m going to wait a little longer before committing them to the internet.

so let’s take a look at what we have in store for this year.

my goals for 2025.

get thyself to london. not only has it been 5 years since my last visit, but in that time ellie has had a baby [who is now 1!], alex and marcus got engaged, and rob has moved to gloucestershire, so i am long overdue to get back. some of this depends on if alex and marcus decide to get married this year and where that wedding will be and also what everyone’s travel plans are, so i don’t have any concrete plans for this just yet and will play it by ear based on how other things are looking. but i hope to get back across the pond in 2025.

sign up for and complete a 5k and a 10k. at one point i had this as an annual goal and then got away from it, and my relationship to running has been very fluid the last few years as i have worked through injuries and a lack of motivation. i’m finally in a place where i am enjoying it again and would like to set myself some goals that will help me stick with it, and i think this is it. i have a mileage goal for the year kicking around in the back of my head, but i’m not yet ready to share it. i’m also allowing myself to change this to two 5k races if i feel like i need to stick to the shorter distance. and yes, strength training goes hand-in-hand with the running and will be a bigger focus this year to prevent lingering injuries.

a specific hike or park visit to be determined later. i know this sounds like a copout but i truly don’t know yet where this will be. i’m a little more limited this year since i don’t have my car in nyc anymore, so i need to be more thoughtful with what this looks like. i’ll hopefully have a better idea of this when i do my midyear update.

host more at my apartment. i still want to limit overnight guests for the time being until i know what my work setup will look like, but in the meantime i want to have more local friends over. maybe the occasional “nice” dinner party, but also the impromptu “hey what are you doing for dinner thursday, i was thinking of making x dish” or the “wanna have a movie night next week” — i have often told maggie how much i crave hanging out at home with friends, and the only way to fix that is to actually invite friends into my space. so this is my pledge to do this at least 4 times this year. once a quarter is totally doable.

get back into a daily writing practice. i am still figuring out what this looks like, but in the last few months i’ve been craving more pen-to-paper writing in my life. for many years the only physical writing i have done is postcards to friends and notes for work, and i have been missing the more personal aspects of journal writing. i’m never going to be someone who writes long daily journal entries, but my hope is to cultivate a 5- to 10-minute writing practice at the beginning or end of each day. i’ve brought a journal with me to india in the hopes it will spark some creative juices.

something new york-focused. this one is a work in progress because i just thought of it a few weeks ago and have not had time to fully think it through as yet. maggie and i were talking recently about all there is to do in the city and how it can sometimes feel overwhelming because you know you’ll never get to it all, but at the same time i’ve had things on my “i want to do this soon” list for nearly three years now and don’t want to keep postponing them. it might be “explore 6 new neighborhoods” or it might be “pick one thing from the list each month” or it might be just be “prioritize this as best you can”. i’m allowing myself some wiggle room as i work out what this will look like [also doing things in nyc is expensive and i need to get a job first so a little leeway is necessary].

and my stretch goals since i wasn’t able to complete them last year:

see shakespeare in the park. the delacourt has been under renovation, so here’s hoping everything gets finished and we’re able to be back in the park this year.

see hamilton on broadway again. this one will get crossed off as soon as maggie and i have full-time jobs again, so wish us both luck.

other things i am looking forward to.

katie walsh is getting married! i’m so excited to celebrate her and craig in april!

a katie milligan return to nyc! in 2022 katie came for a visit in may and returned at the end of the year for our upstate new year trip. in 2023 her work brought her to the city multiple times and we always managed a dinner or at least late drinks each time she was in town. last year she didn’t make it up and so she’s booked tickets and will be back over easter weekend! can’t wait for our buda besties reunion!

my 25-year high school reunion. this is the last of the big anniversaries i mentioned last year, and i’m looking forward to being back in chattanooga for a few days and catching up with everyone.

maybe <hopefully> an adventure with lauren and jen. coordinating a trip between our three schedules is always a task, but we’ve blocked out a weekend in october on our calendars and i’m crossing my fingers nothing gets in the way of our holiday.

that’s all that’s on the books for 2025, but i’m sure more will crop up. in the meantime, i hope this is a wonderful year for you!

xx