RELAX!!!

Happy 2026!

There are plenty of reasons to kick 2025 to the curb ~ heinous politics, health issues, book not published ~ but we also went to the first protests we’d ever participated in, made enjoyable use of our annual passes to the Discovery Cube, saw our friend, Robb Tracy, in THREE live shows, and walked thousands of steps at a nearby lake and at Knott’s Berry Farm. The Husband retired this year and that’s been an adjustment for both of us (I retired in 2022) but the freedom of not having to schedule around his job has been awesome. In short, 2025 coulda been worse so I’m grateful to make it out fairly unscathed.

Yeah, I’m a few days late to the New Year Party but it’s okay, especially since my word for this year is…

R*E*L*A*X

I come from a long line of worriers. Tension, upset, and worst-case scenarios are woven tightly into my DNA. I spend my days with my shoulders up around my ears and my nights dreaming of journeys not taken.

Doubt, imposter syndrome, and fear of failure after honest and very hopeful critiques in October ground my writing progress to a near halt. I celebrate typing one full sentence these days ☹ Such is the life of a writer…

And on a day-to-day basis, I find that I’m so often in Red Alert Mode.

Besides regular ole responsibilities around the house, I worry about:

Has everyone, including felines, gotten their meds?

Where do I have to drive today and what’s parking like?

What appointments and/or reservations do I need to make or get us to?

What bills do I have to pay? (Have scammers stolen all our money????)

These aren’t difficult or terribly demanding but the pressure I put on myself is ridiculous.

So, this year, RELAX is the word and the mantra for me.

Already, I’ve invoked the mantra whenever I feel my blood pressure and shoulders rise. I don’t want to go through my day unsmiling, tense, and just waiting for the next catastrophe (that’s 9 1/2 times out of 10 not catastrophic at all…).

I need to notice the joyful things, the things that make me laugh besides memes on Instagram, the things that bring calm to my life. I need to light candles again, and move more, and concentrate on doing things out of love, not some misplaced sense of perfection or duty, to either my loved ones or my readers.

I need to chill out, let tomorrow come tomorrow, and enjoy life with The Husband moment by moment.

Relax… relax… relax…

Aren’t cats relaxing?!

Any words or plans for this year? Let me know in the comments.

And just relax, man!

Gray Mare Writes Substack Newsletter Sign Up

Gray Mare Writes Instagram

Photo by Asli Dokuzeylul on Unsplash Asleep on couch

Photo by Pourya Gohari on Unsplash Calico

Photo by Katheryna Tomashevska on Unsplash Red chair

Photo by R. Laude on Unsplash Ocean art

Photo by Muhammad-Taha Ibrahim on Unsplash Black and white

Photo by Alexandros Giannakakis on Unsplash  Blue windowsill

Photo by Ogie on Unsplash Paw over face

Photo by Ignat Kushnarev on Unsplash On the rock

Photo by Carol Highsmith’s America on Unsplash  Pair

Photo by Dare Artworks on Unsplash Hissing black cats

Photo by Logan Voss on Unsplash 2026