Here Comes 2025

Are we ready?

I hope that you all had a joyful, peaceful Christmas. I was lucky enough to spend the holidays with my family, from a beloved Uncle to my four grandchildren, and three of my four siblings. There was a lot of laughter, way too much food, and a feeling of immense love.

But that glorious day is over now, and we are moving on to New Year’s Eve. I’ve usually been happy to say goodbye to the year underway and welcome the one coming in. I’ve always been happy to look forward to what will happen next.

Not so this year. Not so.

I am standing on the precipice of the incoming year, and I am filled with anxiety.

Bird flu is rising, mutating, casting a huge shadow over everything. I honestly don’t know how we would come through another pandemic. As the mom of two teachers, I live in fear of another lockdown, of another year or more of online education. As the Nonni of four young children, I live in fear of a new threat to their health and safety.

The climate crisis is here — right now. While we can certainly state that this country has failed to heed the warnings for decades, the threat posed by the incoming administration is overwhelming. The promise to focus on increasing petroleum production is beyond stupid; it will only make an ongoing crisis much worse.