Happy end of the year!! Is it just me or did 2025 absolutely zoom by? I was looking through the photos that I have taken this year and realised I’ve already forgotten half the cool stuff that happened. So before the New Year begins I wanted to sit down and remember the good things from the last 12 months. I know I shared my favourites from the last year on Sunday but I had more and some thoughts from 2025. I have also included my favourite photo from each month. There's no order to this, just random thoughts and moments.
Ellie's 18th birthday in August was so special! She had such a wonderful day and was spoilt rotten! Everything I’d planned came together and then some. She got more presents than she expected, we went out for a lovely meal and she made a full weekend of it by heading into town with her friends for a proper night out. Watching her get ready, seeing how excited she was and knowing she was stepping into this new stage of life felt massive. The fun didn’t stop there either because her sister whisked her away for a night and a mini concert thing which they both absolutely loved.
In fact we all had amazing birthdays this year! Stu and Ellie's in August and Becky's in the first week of September. It gets no easier having 3 birthdays so close together but we did something special for each one and on my birthday in November we visited York Christmas Markets.
Since January my mindset’s gone from powering through no matter what to actually stopping to ask if something’s worth my energy. I used to think pushing myself was the only option. Now I’m much more do I need to care this much and that feels like progress!
The best meal I ate this year was steak and chips which surprises even me. I’ve never been a steak person but Stu and I went out to the pub when they had an offer on. Steak and chips for two and a bottle of wine for £30. Absolute bargain considering a bottle alone is usually about £15. The steak was cooked perfectly, the chips were proper pub chips and I followed it up with Baileys profiteroles for dessert. They were made fresh that day and I still think about them. It was one of those meals where you sit back afterwards and go that was worth it. Sometimes it really is the simple things.
Both my girls are adults now which still feels a bit surreal to say out loud. I’m learning that my role isn’t to fix everything anymore, it’s to listen, support and trust that I’ve done enough to let them figure things out in their own way. It’s hard, and I don’t always get it right but I’m trying. I’m still here just more in the background cheering them on and resisting the urge to interfere.
There were so many moments this year where I caught myself laughing with my girls and realised how much our relationship has shifted. Less mum mode and more we’re just hanging out. Baking, kitchen chats, laughing at something that probably wasn’t even that funny, all those moments were special!
Stu and I had a night away just the two of us on Valentine’s Day and it reminded me how important that is. We’re so used to being in parent mode that it was nice to switch that off for a bit and just be us. Walking, talking, eating without rushing and not worrying about anyone else for 24 hours felt like a reset.
This year I have realised that I am never going to be a domestic goddess with all my ducks in a row. I muddle through with the housework, there might be a pile of clean clothes on the dining room table most days and the living room always needs vacuuming but I'm doing my best. This house is lived in, it's never going to be a show home and that's fine!
I started doing a bit of skincare at the start of the year and shockingly I stuck with it. No miracle transformation but my skin is less dry and just feels better. That’s a win in my book. It turns out doing small things consistently actually works. Who knew?
My denim jacket and white trainers were the best things that I bought myself this year. I wore them right through the summer and felt good in them.
Becky and I had a night away and out seeing Whitney - The Candlelight Concert and we then had a lovely time. She took me to a few bars afterwards. One of them the music was too loud, full of what seemed like kids, the drinks were overpriced and they had a smoke machine which made me feel sick! I am too old for wild nights out so we ended up back in the hotel watching Wrestling on her phone.
My girls have found new interests this year and I have enjoyed watching them explore them. TV shows, movies, football, Formula 1 racing and different computer games that they play.
Not all people but some people see a line and cross so far over it that they forget the line even existed in the first place, then act shocked when they get called out on it and act like you’re overreacting. This year taught me that you really can’t control how someone behaves but you can control how close you let them get! Some folks just don’t do personal space or common sense!
TikTok stole a chunk of my life this year. I reckon I spend about an hour a day scrolling. It's not ideal but I do learn things and laugh a lot. I’ve accepted it for what it is, a bit of entertainment and a bit of learning.
Over the past year I have discovered so many new blogs to read and each day I go and read those blogs and it really is like catching up with a friend.
Some of the best moments this year weren’t events at all. They were slow mornings. The first cuppa of the day, no rushing, doing things at my own pace and sometimes even eating breakfast like a proper adult. Those mornings feel like luxury now and I appreciate them so much more than I used to.
We tried Haggis earlier in the year! I don't know what I was thinking but I thought it would be a good idea to get it as a meal with our Gousto box. It wasn't the taste which put us off, it was the texture. At least we can say we tried it now!
There was a little drama in someone's life and in the past when drama has happened I did not handle it well, I wasn't eating, losing sleep and stressing a lot! This time around the only way I can describe is I thought F**k it and F***k them! I was not going to let people ruin my peace.
Usually I would say my dad has been the biggest support to me throughout the year, he has of course been amazing but this year the teachers at Ellie's college have been the real MVP's. They have been fantastic with her, helping her get onto the course she wanted, pushing her when needed, keeping in touch with me about goings on and being a massive support when there were some issues. I can't thank them enough.
When I look back at 2025 it doesn’t feel dramatic or stressful like last year did. It feels full of little shifts, small joys and moments that mattered more than I realised at the time. I laughed a lot, learned a lot and protected my peace better than ever.
What has been a highlight from your year?
