Holy Shit, Darling Ones,

I’m in a little bit of denial that 2025 is at its end. This whole holiday flew by in a flash. It went by so fast that I only took about four pictures the whole time. One of those pics were from our Christmas Dinner Saltine Taste Test. Premium won by a landslide, with the store-brand Hy-vee saltines a distant second. Zesta were a disgusting, weirdly plastic tasting third.

Even though there are still a few more hours left in the year, and I could be jinxing myself, I’m celebrating that I made it through 2025 with zero strokes and zero feels like a stroke situations.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say 2025 has been about coming to terms with being disabled. I’m not there yet, but I’m on my way. My goal for 2026 is to give everyone, including myself, more grace. Life is tough and petty judgements are easy. I need to get my inner critic to knock it off.

2026 is going to be about grace and creating.

I FINALLY got an appointment for my Social Security Disability hearing (April 20th) and if/when I get on the dole I want to spend my time making things. I told my family that come April 21 I’m gonna be a full-time artist.

“I love you think it will happen that fast,” Sister #2 said. Why does she always gotta kill my buzz?

I’m not entirely sure what this new artsy life will look like yet. For sure I gotta make four blankets (Gigi’s, State Fair, 2026 Temp, and Delilah’s). Plus, I have a vague idea of doing some sort of visual art/postcard thing for the songs I wake up with in my head. Oh, and I want to figure out how to make a book with the brown paper I’ve been saving all year. And writing more, of course.

My hope is with less financial anxiety I’ll have more brain capacity for other things.

What is your hope for 2026?

Love,
Jodi