We’re four days in to the new year, and while I’m not one for resolutions, I do tend to take this time to reflect and think forward.  What did I do last year?  What events stand out?  What memories mean the most to me?  What new ones do I hope to make in the months ahead?  I could easily make a laundry list of the day to day activities throughout the course of the past 12-months, but I find there are always a select few that shine brighter than the rest.  It was another year of adventure, change, challenges and pressures, all reminders to me that – even though I sit here in silence for a moment – there is no shortage of excitement or things to be grateful for in my life.

Banff, of course, was an adventure not soon to be forgotten, and was perhaps the most ‘epic’ of outings throughout 2025; but adventures don’t all need to be epic or involve a plane to be memorable or worthwhile.  Our family and friends shared in so many good times right here in our backyard, and January has the power to remind me of just how special they were.  More than any other year, there were countless tubing adventures down the grand, too many hikes through the forests and along the trails that surround our little town than I could list, and of course camping and cottaging with friends in the warm summer months.  We may be predictable in how we spend our time, but each of these little events come with their own unique set of memories.  You can travel down the same river a thousand times and – be it the weather, the company, the current, or any other of the infinite factors – no two times will be the same.

Riverfest stands out.  Not just because of the music or the incredibly sad fact that we were able to witness and experience the final event of its kind, but because of the company we shared it with.  To be in a place of peace, music, and total zen with the ones you love only heightens an already perfect experience.  I will miss the music, both the familiar and the new, and I am saddened by the fact that our plans to do it all again this year have been squashed, but I will do my best to hold tight to the perspective that I have a lasting memory (and the pictures to prove) that I was able to share a special weekend with people dear to me in a wholly unique experience that quite literally can’t be recreated.  It was once in a lifetime and that’s not something to feel sad about – it’s something I am grateful for.

We got a dog last year.  Unplanned and unscheduled, Starla came into our lives full of love and it felt immediately right for her to be here.  Are we agents of chaos for brining more to our schedule?  Perhaps.  But I don’t think anyone in the Beandricks clan could do without taking risks or leaps of faith at least once every 6-months. I’m not necessarily one to believe in fate, but I do recognize that when certain paths cross, or circumstances present opportunity that will likely never happen again, then taking that chance can more worth it than letting it pass by only to forever wonder “what if?”

Remember when the Blue Jays took it to game 7?

Remember how the whole family got into climbing?

Remember how the first day of school was not a complete disaster?

While there is plenty more to reflect upon, I won’t bore you with the tedium of my process by getting in the minutiae of it all; instead I’d like the take a brief moment in closing to look ahead – for as much as I enjoy reflections, my brain can’t help but wonder what’s next.  Will 2026 be a good year?  That’s impossible to know right now, but I am certain that it will bring with it opportunity, just as every before has managed to do.  Will that manifest in the form of grand adventures?  More pets?  Renovations?  A career change?  Maybe.  Or maybe it will be a quiet year – one in which the opportunity is to slow down for a moment or two.  Most likely there will be room for both.  I worry for what lies ahead with work.  I am concerned with my ability to balance the things that I know are coming within that realm of my life, not just knowing how much travel will be involved, or tasks that will come home, but more so with my patience and ability to tolerate some of the practices that go against my values.  But with that worry I am given finding purpose.  Purpose to push myself out of a comfort zone and face a need for boundaries.  I am making every effort to not steep in the work and the worry, but to leverage it to carve out time for myself, to be clear in my intentions, to say no and to not feel the guilt I typically feel when standing up for myself.   I know that won’t be easy, but growing rarely is.

I also see great opportunity not far off this year.  There are plans in mind which seem more likely to take shape the more I discuss them, and while I am hesitant to come out just yet with what those plans are, I have no problem at all closing this out with cliffhanger to keep you guessing.  Suffice to say, if I get my way, there are good things in store for Elora this year.

However it is you spent your 2025, and whatever you’re thinking for 2026, I wish you and yours the best and hope that you find adventures, big or small, in each and every day.