LOOKING BACK AT 2025

Cheers to 2026, may it be good to us all!

 A year ago this month I found out I had another tumor, this one was growing on my jaw bone. I was dumbfounded and went into 2025 in a daze. I had a tumor removed in May of 2023 that was resting on my aorta. That was a seven and half hour surgery and months of recovery. I didn't talk much about this second tumor, until it was close to the surgery date. Mentally this surgery was harder on me. Two major surgeries in three years takes a toll, both physically and mentally, and this one would was going to affect my appearance. They had to take four teeth and a part of my jaw bone, anywhere the tumor was touching, as it deteriorated the bone so much. Like the other mass, it was benign. I start going for scans on my jaw in February to make sure it's not growing back. I got a partial plate in November and am still adjusting to it. I'm an official "old lady" now, buying Polident and everything! I say that jokingly, because this aging thing can be difficult at times and I choose to add humor to the mix of it all and as a good friend says often, "it's better then the alternative!"

Before and after surgery, August 21st, 2025

This past year wasn't all bad. When I think back over the year a lot of great memories come to mind. Vacation plans got rearranged to keep us in our own country, and we visited some new to us locations in Ontario. Rob and I had a mini break in Goderich for the first time in May and did a road trip to Unionville for the first time this month.

Road tripping for a week with my bestie, Patricia, in July had us all over the place and staying in small towns neither of us had visited before, including; Kingsville, Port Perry, and Paris. We enjoyed all of these charming small towns immensely and I hope to introduce Rob to them in the coming year.

I also rediscovered my love for live music again, seeing a few live bands over the past year. I'm happy to say I've met some wonderful new music friends this past year and got reacquainted with some old ones. Over the course of the past year I went to see; Vixen, Slaughter, Great White, Lee Aaron, Night Ranger, did the VIP thing with Blackie Lawless, and then a couple months later got to see and meet Chris Holmes. Heavy metal may own my heart, but being raised on country legends like Charlie Pride and George Jones, country music owns my soul, and I also saw Shania Twain, Alli Walker and Lainey Wilson this past year. 

Rob's first country concert, Alli Walker, November 1st. 

The highlight concert for me though, was Night Ranger. I hadn't seen them back in the 80's and I was stoked that I was finally going to get to see them live. Rob snapped a pic of me watching them that night, July 25th from right up front.

Bucket list band for me, Night Ranger.

Another pretty significant change this year happened in October. My position at the university has changed significantly over the past few years and I had more free time than I liked, so I now work in another department two days a week. When the manager in conference services found out about staff sharing they wanted me to join their team, and it was in the works for months without me knowing. Feels like a win win for us all, as I get to remain full time by working part time in two departments with coworkers I enjoy working with in both departments. Everything else remains the same. It is a little weird that I remember my manager in the new department from when she was a student, but I enjoy the opportunity to learn new things from these young ladies, and am looking forward to working with them. 

This department also handles the film shoots on campus, and last year Rob and I went to campus while a production was being shot to see if we could catch a glimpse of Matthew Grey Gubler, as we are both huge fans of Criminal Minds. We got more than a glimpse. We had an engaging chat with him between scenes and he was asking us birding questions and was so personable. He actually walked over to talk to us. He was shooting a show called Einstein which was picked up by CBS. I heard a rumor that he will be returning in 2026 to shoot another episode. 

Meeting Matthew Grey Gubler March 16, 2025

Like most years, 2025 was full of ups and downs and as always I'll hope for more ups than downs in 2026 for us all.