Let’s face it. 2025 was rough for many of us. Personally. Professionally. Politically. Still, there were things that brought me joy. As the year winds down, I wanted to take a moment to bask in those warm memories.

1. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Never underestimate a rich woman with a vision. Late this year, I got to visit the museum again. It offers a collection ranging from Rembrandt to Titian to John Singer Sargent, exhibited exactly how Isabella left it when she passed in 1924. There are many monuments to rich men’s eccentricities, but few for women, and this one has an excellent gift shop.
2. Jonathan Groff. We have been JGroff stans in our house since at least Spring Awakening. A triple threat with dreamy blue eyes, we’ve eagerly followed him through Looking, Mindhunter and, in 2024, his Tony-award winning performance in Merrily We Roll Along. But this year, we got the chance to see him blast into orbit as Bobby Darin in Just in Time in the basement of Wicked. Seriously, we were thiiiiiis close to a practically naked Jonathan, and it was everything we wanted it to be. Catch him before he leaves in March 2026.
3. Literary Discoveries. To paraphrase Sam Seaborn, let’s forget the fact that I’m coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that I showed up at all. This year, through recommendations, my classes at Temple’s MFA in Creative Writing Program and my own explorations, I discovered the writings of Alice Munro, Melissa Bank, and Heather Leichter.
4. Print version of The New Yorker. I have succumbed to my true yuppie form and finally subscribed to the paper version of The New Yorker. As a summer project, I decided to read each fiction story and ended up reading most of every issue. The cherry on the sundae is the fact that my elementary school aged child loves the cartoons. Sometimes, I make him explain them to me.
5. Jeff Hiller’s Emmy Win. This year, Jeff Hiller, a star of Somebody Somewhere, was an unexpected winner of the Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In fact, his nomination was so unexpected that the powers that be at the Emmy’s didn’t even have a picture of Jeff ready for the initial announcement. I loved that Jeff won because he is wonderful in Somebody Somewhere (as is the rest of the cast; seriously, if you haven’t watched it, stop reading this and go stream Somebody Somewhere before it gets removed in the merger), but also because he shows that a late-in-life artist can still break through. Some hope for the rest of us.  
6. Bucks County Book Festival. In 2025, I got the chance to become very involved in the planning and execution of the Bucks County Book Festival, and we had a smashing success, connecting thousands of booklovers over three days of events. I can’t wait to do it again (and even bigger) in 2026.
7. Student Discounts. I am finally getting around to using my status as a student for my own nefarious purposes, i.e. getting totally legit student discounts. In 2025, I was able to secure free or reduced admission to the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Breakers in Rhode Island, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum as well as a highly reduced subscription to the New Yorker. Now, if only Disney+ offered a student discount.
8. Protests! I went to a few and read eagerly about many more. That 2025 was a dumpster fire politically is the understatement of the millennia, but I have been heartened that all kinds of people keep showing up to show that all of this is not okay.  Let’s keep that going in 2026.
9. Writing Retreat at Highlights Foundation. Finally, I enjoyed another lovely long weekend writing retreat at the Highlights Foundation in the gentle hills of the Poconos. This year, I was able to introduce a new writing pal to Highlights’ special brand of magic. It is a privilege to have time to create art and I am always grateful to have that opportunity, especially with a friend.