At the dawn of the new year, we all have goals and regrets.
My 2024 was a strange and exhausting year and one that I’ll never have to do again. I was awarded guardianship of my mother and estate trustee for my dad, so the year was spent travelling back and forth to The House, sometimes weekly, sometimes more than weekly, to deal with the contents and sell the house itself.
It was gruelling and depressing, and I thank all the friends and family who helped me out with that horrible task.
I’m not going to go through my life here on Substack. If you want journals, you can join my Patreon!
I’m looking forward to 2025 as I’m sure most everyone is. Well, I hope you are as there’s no escaping it!
I’m hoping for myself that 2025 will finally be the year I get my self back on track. I have books to finish and stories to write and I’m not getting any younger!
2025 is an exciting unknown, shining before me like a present wrapped in sparkling paper and ribbons. I can’t wait to begin tugging on the strings tonight.
As I’ve been exhausted from flailing around for a year or two, I’ve had a very quiet Christmas season and New Year’s. I caught a cold on top of it all and my bones have suddenly decided to let me know that I’m in my sixties. I’ve been waking in the night with aches and pains that I’ve never had before.
I’m going to sit here tonight, New Year’s Eve, and work on my apartment to make it my own again now that most of the parental boxes have been moved over to the storage.
I’m going to focus on writing in 2025. A lot of writing! Am I not a writer? When am I writing another novel? Or rather, FINISHING one that I already began?!
I have a lot of items to list on Poshmark Canada and eBay from my own stuff and stuff that people give me to sell. I’ve not had time to sit and list as it seemed all I did all year was drive and drive and drive. So I’ll get back to that beginning today.
The gym membership will get a better workout. I wish I could afford a gym with classes but maybe if I do well this year with my businesses, that wish will be fulfilled.
I’ll be travelling a bit in 2025. Not sure just how much yet. I signed up for Stokercon, but I fear it’s too expensive to actually get to, so I may not get there this year. The hotel is horribly expensive as well, especially for a writer’s convention. I'm not sure why they think horror writers have buckets of money to burn by picking these expensive cities that are hard to get to.
I won’t be going to Necon this year for sure. Way way way out of my price range now. It used to be my favourite convention but it’s changed a lot and most of the friends I used to enjoy seeing are dead or don’t go anymore. The original campus was a day’s drive away (and also accessible by bus, I did it three times), and the airport wasn’t too expensive and there were always happy volunteers ready to help out shuttling.
The dollar exchange between Canada and the US is horrible right now. And the new campus, though I really like it, is way too expensive to get to from Toronto. Way. Too. Expensive. Again, horror writers aren’t usually rich, so I’m not sure why we keep ending up in places that cost way too much for what they are.
I’m excited for 2025 because I have so many friends in my life who I hope to continue to see and enjoy. I have gratitude for each and every person who comes into my life. I’ve met a lot of people this year and will continue to meet more.
I have great gratitude for those who have helped me out all year, mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally. And even for those who seem to hate me or hold grudges or want nothing to do with me despite being family or former friends, I have gratitude for those experiences.
If we didn’t have shitty experiences, how would we know if we have good ones? And if people can’t let go of a past filled with missteps and misunderstandings, then I can’t help you. That is your own battle to fight within your own mind. I’ve now lived a life where I understand fully that not everyone is your friend and not everyone has your best interest at heart. And not everyone is the star of their own story and are resentful because they can’t figure out that they ARE A STAR in their own story.
We are who we are and we will continue to be who we will be.
I wish all of you a wonderful new year!
Happy new year — hope you have a great one!