The Year I Stopped Playing It Safe

The end of the year signals a desire to reflect on the past and start focusing on what the future may bring. This in-between time—where the past is now the past and the future is forthcoming—allows us to pause, just for a moment, and think a little deeper about life, purpose, love, sadness, joy, disappointment, and hope.

My year has been a giant whirlwind, and the biggest word to represent it would definitely be CHANGE. But even that doesn't fully capture all that happened and everything I experienced.

She said yes!

When I look back to the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, I think about my oldest daughter's engagement. The excitement, the secrecy we all had to keep until it happened right before the end of 2024—it signaled change in her relationship and the "official" addition of someone we love into our family. It made me realize that my little girl, my firstborn, is truly a woman now, making her own life.

That was quickly followed by my youngest daughter's adventure—a semester studying abroad in Ireland. I'd never had her be so far away, on her own, navigating other countries, customs, travel, and a life that looks so different from our own in Minnesota. I beamed with pride, but also felt a little sadness missing her. Another reminder: this young adult used to be my tiny, curly-cued human.

At the Cliffs of Moher with our baby!

But it also opened up time for adventures with my husband of 26 years (together for 32 years—how did that happen?). Our milestone birthdays were something to celebrate, so we traveled the world. We went to Ireland to see our baby at her "temporary" university, climbing through castles and soaking in the sights.

We took a cruise to Central and South America, where I got to experience places I could only have dreamed of—like Panama, where sloths hung quietly in the trees as we paddled our kayaks by. The food in Cartagena, Colombia was amazing, along with the history and people. The beaches of Aruba and Curaçao were breathtaking and rejuvenating. All of this within a couple of months. It was life-changing.

But then mid-year brought big change for me. While I'd been anticipating my need for change for a while, I finally took a big, risky leap and left my corporate job to pursue some passion projects. In my whole adult life, I had never been without a full-time job. I had never tested new waters without knowing the outcome, instead choosing security and assuredness over ambition and risk.

I struggled with fear and uncertainty, for sure. But what I discovered in the back half of the year is confidence in myself—that I can do hard things. I have more talents than I realized, both big and small. I have an incredibly supportive and loving family, especially my husband, who has never wavered in his support of me.

As I look to next year, more excitement and change are sure to come. We have a wedding this summer, and I really don't know yet where my "career" will go. But what I do know is that I'm more open to trying new things without worrying about the outcome. I've built up my confidence to believe in myself and not try to be something someone else wants me to be. I realize now that when people made fun of my life—where I live, the fact that I have chickens or love to bake and be kind—it was all just part of my journey to find my true self.

I'm going into 2026 bolder, standing taller and wiser, looking forward to what comes next.