We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are now starting our seventh year!
This month, we are talking about the top five things we are optimistic about in 2026. We'd love to hear what you are optimistic about this year. Feel free to share in the comments!
We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. 😊 We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.
It’s tough to focus on optimism right now, especially with everything going on in our world. It was hard for me to sit down and pinpoint what I’m looking forward to this year, but I strongly believe that even the smallest glimmers of hope and goodness can help.
The five things I’m optimistic about for this year:
1. A new job: I feel like for so long, I can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to my employment. For the last three years, I’ve been working in environments that are borderline toxic, which seems to be a pretty standard experience in the line of work I’m in (property management.) I don’t know if it's the location I’m in–when I worked in property management in Nebraska, I had some really great experiences. Or maybe the industry has changed so much and this is the new norm, but I’m really hoping it’s not. I am hopeful that the impending opportunities I have that could allow me to change employers might be a much better, less toxic, fit.
2. My relationships: I’m trying to work on bettering my relationships with people; my husband, my kids, my friends. My family. I’m optimistic that I can work on improving communication and letting the people who I care about know that they are important to me. With so many disjointed, confusing experiences in the world, having a solid support system and reciprocating that for others is the only thing that is going to get us through the craziness right now.
3. My health: Despite my increasing age and dealing with a lot of physical changes since entering my late forties, I’m focusing on making my health and wellness a huge priority this year–maybe even the number one priority. It’s so easy to slide back into old habits, which for me means making sure everyone else is OK first, then making my own health and well-being dead last. I see improvements and feeling better overall in my near future, as long as I stick to my goals and plans.
4. Don’t laugh, but: I see guinea pigs in my future. I love guinea pigs. I’ve had two piggies as pets, and they are just so cute. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to my cat Chance late last year, which was pretty devastating to all of us in my family. The only tiny sliver of a silver lining to that, was that my allergies have improved–he was my only allergen. I’m such an animal lover, but I know I have some limitations. I’d love to have a pet again at some point, one that I’m not allergic to, and a pet that won’t be super time consuming. Is it crazy that I want three guinea pigs?
5. Time to write: I have been making myself a note every day for the last year or so, to remind myself to write. But I haven’t been doing it. With a new job comes newfound energy, space, and prioritizing my need to write, and I think I will finally pull the trigger and get back into it. I definitely see free writing and journaling in my future.
I can't believe we're at the beginning of another year. I'm sure I've probably written the year as "25" when I put dates on something. Anyway, I am glad Sara limited us to five things for this list, as I don't really have a lot in mind just yet for reasons similar to what she said above. So, here goes...
1. Turning 50 this summer. I shouldn't be excited about aging, but it also means I've lived this many years already. I am hoping to do something fun to celebrate, even if it's a mini-vacation somewhere. I feel like that's all up in the air, so we'll just see what happens. Otherwise, I'll just take a huge spa day for myself. 😄 Also 50 is the new 40, so there!
2. My younger son graduating from high school. Technically, he's already in college, but he's also a senior in high school. (He's in an early college program from the county.) He applied to a bunch of colleges and we're just playing the waiting game. As much as I don't want him leaving, I also know he has a lot of great things in store. He's really smart and talented and I'm so proud of him!
3. Any and all opportunities to see my kids perform or show off their talents. My older son wrote a play that is going to be performed in a playwriting festival at his school this spring! I also look forward to any shows my kids may be performing in this summer or later in the year.
4. Finally getting on top of book reviews this year. I had a huge queue to review last year and was always behind. I'm almost caught up on my 2025 reviews (one more left!) and am trying to write reviews as soon as I finish the new books I've been reading. I'm hoping that will help my reviews be more robust as I tend to forget stuff from a couple months ago and those reviews are weaker as a result.
5. Hopefully making more new friends. I made some new friends over the past year. A bunch were online, but I did connect more with a woman in my neighborhood last year and we've gotten together a few times and had great conversations. So I am optimistic about making more new friends this year, whether it's online or in person!
What are you optimistic about for 2026?
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