Widow's Voice

Turning the Page on Another Year

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I’m writing this on New Year’s Day, 2026. I’m honestly really glad to bid farewell to 2025. And for the first time in probably 10 or more years I actually did something with a few friends for New Year’s Eve. I fired up my two old Technics SL-1200 DJ turntables and played some old techno and breakbeat records. We all had a great time then talked a little bit about what we might want to do “leave behind” in the old year.

I’m not someone who makes New Year’s resolutions anymore. For one, estimates of New Year’s resolution failures can be as high as 90%. People go all gung ho with the whole, “new year, new me” thing and lose motivation quickly. I realized a long time ago that at any point in the year, I could decide to start something new, make a change, learn something new, or whatever.

I do like to kind of review a year as it comes to a close. 2025 had a lot of tough moments and I’m very grateful to have gotten through them all.

I already feel like 2026 is going to be a more positive year for me in many ways. I’ve been reading about numerology lately and based on that, it’s said there are 9 year cycles. Oddly enough, I’d been feeling like 2026 was a new beginning of sorts and that the last nine or so years were rather rough. 2025 was the 9th year in a cycle, so 2026 starts a new one,

It was around 2017 that Mario’s heath really started to take a noticeable downturn. I was in an auto accident that year, we had a lot of stress trying to purchase a foreclosed property, one of my aunts passed away, my cat who I’d had for 19 years passed away and revenue with my business was down. Whether you buy into numerology or not, it wasn’t a great year, but looking back it kind of set a tone for the years to follow.

There were some good things that happened too, as there always are, but for some reason, I feel like the next 9 years might have way more good than bad.

So I enter into this new year with the last 9 years behind me. The road ahead looks bright and it’s been a long time since I felt a natural ease and comfort going into a new year.

I feel like some good things were set in motion in the last few months that will quickly materialize. I feel a genuine positive energy about the future, unlike other years where I may have been hopeful, but with a definite sense of unease.

Earlier today, I went over to my mom’s and we ate our traditional New Year’s day meal of potatoes and sauerkraut. I also managed to fix a gate on her property that the windstorm had practically ripped off the hinge. I spent a big chunk of the evening sitting by the fireplace in my living room streaming random things on the tv. Not a highly productive day, but balanced. A good way to start what I hope will be a great year.

 

 

 

About Sherry Holub

I met my spouse, Mario, at UCLA School of Art in 1993. After graduating in 1995, I founded a small agency specializing in web and graphic design. Mario became my partner in the company in 1999. In 2002, we were married at the Costa Mesa, CA court house because neither of us wanted a big wedding ceremony (after already being together since 1995).

Mario was a highly talented artist, musician, illustrator and 3D Designer, but a tortured one. He was one of those gentle, creative souls who ended up burning twice as bright for half as long. Mario lost the battle with liver disease induced by alcoholism (almost exactly 6 months after he became sober) on 2/10/21.

I’m a long-time artist and writer with a background in photography who enjoys cooking, getting outdoors, staying young at heart, and sharing experiences to potentially help others. When it comes to writing, I’ve written both for fun and professionally over the years. Writing is also sometimes therapy for me and I don’t mind sharing my personal experiences with a wider audience.