Happy, Healthy Joyful New Year 2026! The holidays are over, festive decorations are disappearing, shopping malls are less crowded, and life is inching back to normal. For many of us this has been a meaningful and memorable Christmas holiday season. For others, not so much. To those whose stockings were neither filled with goodies nor whose families were able to be together, my heart goes out to you.
Sometimes, however, we have to decide to find goodness, and joy. It is a conscious choice. It is not wise to malinger in our own woes. Sometimes we have to realize that in doing for someone else we uplift ourselves and are reminded of our own blessings.
For me, 2025 was a daunting but (ultimately) teachable year. After recovering from an emergency carotid stent at the end of 2024, I shattered my right ankle in a fall last March. Dr. “Cutiepie,” the handsome young orthopedic specialist assigned to my case, informed my sons that he had rarely seen such a bad break. With each bone broken, he said it was tantamount to dropping a crystal “wine glass on a concrete floor.”
Complicated surgery, followed by over nine weeks in rehab, then countless weeks of physical therapy. Now, ten months later, I happily ambulate with the aid of a cane. This is two steps forward. My wheelchair is shuttered in the attic, and my walker is tucked in a corner of the bedroom to be used at night. A safety precaution. When old bones have lain dormant for hours, they tend to be stiff and unreliable. Falls can occur without warning. And no one wants those.
Will this ankle ever allow me to walk unaided for three miles or even one mile? Will I be able to dance the Twist or Charleston, as my beloved husband and I enjoyed? Probably not, and probably I should never try!
When one must sleep in a hospital bed wearing a cast followed by a knee-high bulky boot for weeks, and every move is orchestrated by what is permitted, one must make adjustments. One does it either with a positive or a negative approach. Sleeping on my back was not a choice but a necessity. After several restless nights, I learned to accommodate the inconvenience. We can either grumble, growl or view it as a challenge to conquer.
Because my mother and father named me “Joy,” I was constantly reminded as a child “no pouting. After all, honey, your name is Joy.” Because that lesson was drummed into my childish head, I have never forgotten it…even at age 87!
This is not to say that I possess a Pollyanna personality. Goodness knows during those long weeks in rehab, a wee pity-party often invaded my thoughts. I fervently wished to be back in my cottage, hugging my pup, mingling with my friends, and not being a worry to my four adult and glorious children, who live in Seattle, Boston, Connecticut and Virginia Beach.
Surrounded by caring staff, visits from devoted friends, cards, emails, calls, I was very fortunate. I adore reading and watching good movies on my Ipad, too. Those long nights and days miraculously passed. Excellent PT helped me regain strength, family checked in regularly.
As the weeks slipped by, and as dependent as I was on assistance for mundane tasks like showering, I knew the one thing I could control was my attitude. Whenever anyone did something to help or uplift me, I felt genuinely grateful. Smiles and thank you’s generated return smiles. Complaints are expected in health care facilities, so skip them, unless it is a serious issue.
Now that I live alone again, I never cease to be delighted when someone offers to hold a door for me, or carry a package. Perfect strangers benevolently offer assistance. Such a happy feeling, and a positive sign that genuine kindness exists. Manners are still taught to young folks. Hence, I believe future generations will be all right!
My favorite experience occurred as I was approaching the post office a few weeks before Christmas. A busy, bustling place in mid-afternoon. Just as I was about to enter, a young mother and her little girl of about six or seven were coming out. Suddenly, I heard the mama say to her daughter, “Katie, please hold the door for the nice lady.” That door weighed far more than the child did. Nevertheless, the little mite pushed, valiantly, and I caught the door. Thanking her profusely, I loved the beautiful, beaming smiles on both mother’s and child’s faces.
Events like this, and many others, continue to nourish my soul. Why? Because in a country that is currently fraught with dissention, divisiveness, and discord, my heart swells to see random acts of kindness. Living in Virginia and having traveled to Connecticut for Christmas, I witnessed many more compassionate offers from strangers.
One more thought: how glorious to see five of my nine grandchildren, two original offspring and two great- grandbabies! A delight to witness these youngsters develop into outstanding young adults, and to watch the easy interaction among them. Surely, “my cup runneth over.” How I wish my husband could have been with us. (We all felt John smiling down at us from heaven above.)
If you remember the 1990ties Christmas “feel good” movie Love Actually starring Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson, you may recall a song called “Love is All Around.” Indeed, I cherished love and “Goodness All Around” me during 2025.
As we put away our Christmas holiday trappings for another year, let us never forget that no matter what life brings us, there is Goodness All Around. It is up to us to welcome it and rejoice in it… Such a blessing, and such a privilege “to pay it forward.”
Top Bigstock photo by Tom Wang
