2025 Wrap Up

Hi Friends and Family,

It’s time for our second annual letter recapping the year. I love receiving these letters, so if you’re reading this page, and I’m not on your mailing list for your annual letter, please add me. Easiest way to create this e-version of our letter is on this page on my website (which is intended to be hidden from any navigation, so hopefully, it’s just visible to people who have the direct URL, but no harm if others stumble upon it - please forgive the irrelevant header and footer).

January

My sis trekked out to CO to see her friend as the artist-in-residence at the Denver Art Museum. Since we were headed to the art museum to see my sister’s pal, we got to see the Maurice Sendak exhibit there on a bitterly cold day, complete with snow. This photo is from a warmer day when we met my cousin Fred at Avo’s for dinner. Other fun January events: we had a family This I Believe event via Zoom where we read our essays aloud and we had an IRL This I Believe in our neighborhood.

February

We hosted a series of dinner parties this past year, cramming people into our small house. This one is from February close to Bob’s (pictured above center) birthday. Also in this photo are neighbors Judith and John. Not pictured, but at that dinner were Heidi and Brandon. Some other February highlights: I participated in two groups at our local UU church, one was a book group that delved in My Grandmother’s Hands, which was a profound study of embodiment. Also in February, we got to see Sweet Honey in the Rock perform live at our local performing arts center. Simply stunning!

March

This is one of my favorite photos from 2025. It’s Lain and Dusk at the Larimer Humane Society just before they picked up their new family member, Clawdia. I got to go because we had a voucher for a free adoption that we received for all of the fostering we did over the years for our local humane society. See photo of Clawdia below.

April

Finally! We got tickets to the renovated Casa Bonita. This photo is from after we had lunch and had the full classic Casa Bonita experience, so we’re all looking a little weary. (Side note: It’s worth watching the documentary about the renovation - a fun insight into this Denver institution.)

May

Another favorite photo from this year. Audrey graduated from CSU! She finished her internship over the summer and landed a job in Loveland at a manufacturing company that makes wires. She’s doing both data analytics and IT support.

June

We squeezed in a trip to Dewey Beach, DE, with (pictured left to right) Lee, my mom, Vee, Vee’s partner Paul, me, and Dave. June was action-packed. While we were on the East Coast, we got to have a reunion with peeps I worked with at UMd almost 30 years ago, hosted by wonderful friends Lisa and John in Silver Spring, MD. Back in CO, we also got to see Mary Chapin Carpenter in concert at our local botanic gardens. And we went to see Shankar Vedantam of Hidden Brain fame at the Paramount in Denver. I’m still thinking about some of the stories Shankar shared.

July

In July, Dave completed the Tour de Wyoming with several hundred cyclists. This photo is actually from a training ride in March. Only Ray (pictured left) went on the Wyoming trip with Dave, but Andy and Steve in the above photo teamed up with Dave to do a weeklong bike trip in the CO mountains in August. Dave biked >3000 miles in 2025, so he’s in pretty good shape. He noted that he gave racquetball a try for several months in 2025, but quit when his knees squawked.

August

We went to the UU weekend camp near the end of August at Buckhorn Camp just about an hour from our house. It was a chilly, rainy weekend, but still a lovely gathering. In early August, we went with a Colorado sangha to a meditation retreat in Crestone that my friend Viviane Ephraimson-Abt co-led.

September

Since Audrey moved back in with us in July, we needed more space, so our basement tenant moved just two doors down and we reclaimed the basement. It’s quite a shift to have my kids moving us. Dave and I are loving the basement suite!

October

We visited a new sober bar in Loveland called The Love Shack in October. It’s a lovely place with LGBTQ+ ownership. This is me with our friends Peter and Lynda. October was also our first visit to the Gardens on Spring Creek Pumpkins on Parade where we got to enjoy some impressive pumpkin art.

November

We drove from CO to MD to spend at week near Assateague where my aunt and uncle were campground hosts (during the government shutdown, so there was a slightly surreal vibe). Pictured left to right: sis Vee, her partner Paul, my aunt Samantha, my uncle George, cousin David, cousin-in-law Michael, Dave, and me. During November, Dusk and Lain came out to meet us in MD for a few days after their whirlwind trip to NYC, and we made the mistake of driving on the busiest driving weekend of the year from MD to FL. Travel tip: stay clear of I-95 on Thanksgiving weekend.

December

I turned 60 and to celebrate, we spent a month at the Gulf and Bay Club at Siesta Key in Florida, which is as luxurious as it sounds. So many activities and visitors and connections with family and friends. This is the photo of the year for me. Deep, deep relaxation and nourishment.

Clawdia

Here’s the promised photo of the famous Clawdia, our new grandcat.

Strength Training

I started a strength training program this year. I love it! Just women, size-neutral, beautiful community. There’s a new 12-week challenge starting in mid-January, so join me (and my sister, who’s on board with this fun group, too).

Bonus

We marched. And marched again. Doing our part. This photo is from April with friends Laura and Jenny.

Another Bonus

Gotta have a photo of cousins Jo and Al since we essentially moved in with them for November.

Our favorites list (these aren’t necessarily things that were released in 2025, just things that marked our year):

  • Book of the year: Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkman - a beautiful reminder that our days here on earth are limited plus encouragement to abandon perfectionism and time management quick fixes. Dave and I listened on audio to one installment per day while we were travelling.

  • Game of the year: Splendor, which was popular among everyone who played it with Dave, who carted it around to all of our end-of-year travels.

  • Song of the year: Whiplash, a song that Dave selected, but he did recognize that KPop Demon hunters had a bigger cultural impact in 2025.

  • Podcast of the year: How to Survive the End of the World with sisters Autumn Brown and Adrienne Maree Brown - practices and reminders to stay sane during chaos.

  • Podcast episode of the year: How to rest when life is overwhelming with Katherine May on How to be a Better Human - reassurance and guidance about living through difficult times.

  • Substack of the year: Tiny Sparks by Trisha Wolfe – a therapist who teaches about trauma recovery using a technique that I’m loving right now called memory reconsolidation - she does book groups, too, and I’ve loved all of her book groups.

  • Bike race of the year: Once again, Dave selected The Grand Prix de Montreal as his favorite race of the year. He loved it even though Tadej Pogacar ran away with it and almost every race he was in this year. That race is always full of stars just before the world championships.

Looking forward to 2026’s adventures. With massive love,

Margaret and Dave