2025: Priorities in Review

It's always good to pause at the end of the year and reflect on how things are going. As Annie mentioned, game-playing a few weeks ago got us thinking about our real-life priorities. Here's where mine currently stand in 2025 (in no particular order).

1. Relationships: I enjoy spending time with people. Whether with family, friends, church or at work, having good relationships with others is important to me. This year, I spent a fair bit of time on...

• My work relationships - I took time to get to know folks at work by planning weekly Wednesday Walkabouts and monthly happy hours for all.
  
  
• Kio - Kio and I spent a lot of quality time together this year. Looks like a worthwhile investment since we are now planning to get married next year!

Ironically, while I'm decent at planning activities, I'm a very poor phone-caller. This means that I don't do well keeping in touch with my family or friends who are a bit further away. Perhaps a way I can improve my relationships in 2026.

2. Reading: Back in the days of my youth, I read many dozens of books each year. As an adult, it's been hit or miss. But this year, I returned to my reading roots! Although I only completed 20 books (the goal was 24), I did read 6,962 pages. I read multiple 1000+ tomes, so I feel good about what was accomplished. Most notable reads include:

• War & Peace - Kio has been wanting to read this for years. He has started it a handful of times, but never got through it. One of my special skills is finishing books that are a bit... lackluster. We started by reading the book out loud together, 1800s style. But we were going to slow. Kio had to resort to giving us reading assignments.
  
  
• Books for my new Read Around the World project - This year, I started a new reading project where I read a book by an author born in each country of the world. We had our first reading party in November where we read a book by a Swedish and Norwegian author. Next up, India and Afghanistan.

3. Running: While I didn't end up running 400 miles, I did run consistently throughout the year. The running always improves my mood and makes it possible for me to eat more delicious things. Happy to keep this habit running! 

4. Travel: This year, our travel focus was America! Over the course of the year I had the privilege of visiting New Orleans, LA; Phoenix, AZ; Port Townsend & Mount Vernon, WA; Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; Medford, OR. And not to worry, I also made it to Vancouver, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize.

5. Have a plan "B": Lots of people experienced a lot of change and turmoil this year. As economics and politics shift, it's hard to know how your life may change or stray from your intentions. This year, I continued to always have a "Plan B" in mind. This allows me to move through live with a little less stress and a little more assurance. Having a "Plan B" is also about your state of mind. For me, this means being flexible with my plans and expecting changes to occur, even if they aren't in alignment with my goals.