It’s easy during the hecticness of everyday life to sometimes forget to be thankful for recent blessings you may have experienced, which is one of many reasons why it’s especially important when Thanksgiving rolls around to reflect on the year and give thanks for it while family and friends are gathered around.
As it is with everyone else, Mom and I had our fair share of ups and downs in 2025. We learned that quite possibly we’ll be needing more work related to our home’s foundation in the next couple of years, in addition to the extensive crawlspace project already undertaken and completed a year and a half ago.
There was also an immediate roof repair we needed to have done a few weeks ago, which has resulted in us bumping up the estimated time for a full roof replacement to probably the summer of 2026. This is something we knew was coming, thanks to the home inspector report we had done in mid-2024, but we were hoping to be able to put it off a bit longer so we could get some other things sorted out.
But there has been even more for which to be thankful.
First and foremost, Mom’s lab work and CT scans continue to be encouraging, according to her medical oncologist. This month marked the three-year mark since she had her tumor removed after being diagnosed with colon cancer.
Waiting for the results from the blood work and CT scans to come in brings on stress and anxiety for both of us. Needless to say, when we’re told that things look good, we feel immensely blessed and thankful. We can’t ask for anything more than that. Obviously, we’re praying for many more such encouraging reports in upcoming doctor visits.
Secondly, even though the news about (expensive) things we may have to have done to the house was a bit of a downer, the good news is that we’re a few months away from paying off the house. Considering the various projects we’ve had to undertake, there was a point where we wondered if we should cut our losses and move on. But we’ve decided the pros are bigger than the cons, especially in this volatile housing market. So we’re sticking around and hoping for the best.
Relatedly, a few experiences I’ve had this year, on which I won’t get into too much detail, have provided me quite a bit of clarity of mind and peace of mind about decisions to be made about the future. I can’t even begin to describe how good that has felt after months and months of indecisiveness and worry regarding things we were pondering on whether to address.
For anyone whose year didn’t go the way they wanted it to, it’s going to be difficult not to go into the holidays feeling resentful. I’ve felt that way before, too. But try to remember that the Lord has blessed you with more days here on Earth, more days to hopefully turn things around, to right the ship, to forge a positive path forward.
The older you get, the more you come to realize that life is way too short not to let bygones be bygones and way too short to let your worries consume you. Enjoy and cherish your Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones, and remember to give special thanks for the time y’all have to spend with each other. None of us is guaranteed a tomorrow, so it’s best to try and appreciate the present and most, if not all, of everything it has to offer.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
