Huge Notable Events

Usually, the Huge Notable Events in my life happen in even years: my birth, high school and college graduations, move to Washington, get married, baby number one, baby number two, diagnosed with a rare disease, get a lung transplant…you get the picture. But 2025 has broken the trend and it seems fitting that in this quarter century year, much has happened. 

I have had so many wonderful and delightful experiences: concerts (Barry Manilow to OMD to Paul Simon to Simple Minds to local favorites), plays and musicals, sports games (Sounders, Mariners and Kraken!), three trips to California (and peeps from there to here), several No Kings protests, an international work and play trip to Belgium and Iceland. And the more mundane but still fabulous, like book club, game nights, happy hours and general friend time (plus weekly visits with Joby). But none of it compares to the Huge Notable Event: selling the home of the last 17 years and moving into my apartment.

And through all this, I’ve had my first hiccup since my transplant 13 years ago that is lung-related and not a result of being immunocompromised. We’re not exactly sure what happened but over the last year, I’ve lost about 15% of my lung capacity (though a 3-day treatment in the hospital in June halted that) and I won’t get it back. I still haven’t quite figured out how to work around that loss and this month, I begun pulmonary rehab to make the rest of my system process oxygen more efficiently. I am confident I’m on an upwards trend but it’s been a tough year.

Having health challenges really makes it easy to prioritize what’s most important. Broken Family Christmas, my aunt and dad being here for Thanksgiving, heading down to the Bay Area in a couple weeks to see family…these are some of the things of late that have been energy-worthy. My kids are my favorite humans on this planet and I can’t get enough of them; I’ve got support and love both near and far; I’ve got a work family that is undertanding and helpful and I’m so fortunate to have the job I do.

So all of these considerations made staying home tonight -- in my cozy apartment with a couple of cuddly cats (only when they feel like it, of course), sporadic fireworks going off in the distance, and reflecting on the last year -- a pretty easy decision.

Here’s to a kind and empathetic 2026 (and may it be a slightly less personally notable year, I need a break)!