Over the last few days, I have been thinking a lot about my life over the previous year. In the past, I would put together a yearly letter about all the things Jack and I had done, places we had gone, and our plans for the upcoming year. I pulled up a few of those letters and knew I no longer wanted to send them out.
I stewed about it, thinking my life was empty and that I had nothing important to share. This bothered me, but then, at least my life with my dackel Heidi had been relatively quiet. And if nothing else, Heidi makes me feel well-loved.
On Christmas Day, I dressed up and took myself out for a fancy dinner. As I sat glancing out the window at Meredith Bay (part of Lake Winnipesaukee), I started to think about all that I had accomplished in 2025.
There were three big things that I accomplished in 2025. The first thing. My driveway looked like it had gone through a 7.5 earthquake in California. After getting several estimates, I finally found a contractor I was comfortable with, and the work began.
By the time my driveway was done, I casually watched my TV one Saturday night, and I suddenly had double vision in my left eye. Thinking this was from being over-tired, I went to bed, thinking all would be fine in the morning. Needless to say, it wasn’t. I was referred to a surgical Ophthalmologist, and surgery was set for July.
The morning after the surgery, I could feel something running down my cheek. It was blood. I went into the surgeon’s office to get the eye unpacked. I’d had a hemorrhage in my eye, thus blocking the vision. They asked what I could see. I couldn’t see anything—just blackness. My doctor was very reassuring, but I was a wreck.
The days and weeks passed. I would wake in the morning depressed and convinced the vision would never come back. My doctor kept trying to encourage me, but by the end of September, I’d given up…or almost. One morning, I woke, and my vision in the left eye had begun to return!
I started looking for a construction company that specializes in cleaning and restaining cedar shakes. I found a man who’d actually worked on Cape Cod with shingles like mine. He had an opening before the snow flew, so my beautiful house looks lovely once again.
So even though I felt that there was nothing to celebrate in a short note in my Christmas Cards this year, I realized that I genuinely do have a great deal to be thankful for.
I hope your Christmas was a joyous one and that 2026 will be full of much happiness.
Love, Maribeth & Heidi
