Today will be my last post for the year. I know there’s still 10+ days to go until 2025 passes the baton to 2026, but I’m busy, you’re busy, we’re all busy enjoying this fun time of year with our family and friends (just as it should be) whilst also trying to wrap up all the serious stuff in our lives.
I’ll aim to be back on Monday the 12th of January, and in the meantime, I’ll do my best to get around to as many blogs as I can to personally thank you for all your support this year. If I miss you by accident, know that I am SO GRATEFUL for you reading / liking / commenting – it makes me crazy-happy that we have come this far on our journey together over the last 2 years.
And that’s the truth – I probably wouldn’t still be writing if you weren’t still reading. It is a very cathartic experience to write a blog, to put your heart and soul on the page as you explore all your quirks and interests, but it’s also very time consuming (especially when you’re often sick), so all those little-likey-stars and comments I get at the bottom of a post keep me motivated to keep researching and writing.
So, what’s planned for 2026? Well, as you may or may not know, after 5 years of study, I finally graduated with a PhD and can now call myself Dr Linda – BUT – at pretty much the exact same time I graduated, my university let go of 400 staff members and closed new intakes in a giant cost-cutting initiate. As such, the academic pathway I thought I was paving for myself has come to a stumbly dead-end, and I’m still figuring out what comes next.
As a lot of you have personally experienced, it is very hard to make future plans when you don’t have reliable health. I can’t put my hand up for a Wednesday tutoring role in the city, because I can’t guarantee I can make my way into the city every Wednesday, as my migraines don’t adhere to a timetable. So, I’m looking for roles that I can do online and from home in my own time… as is everyone else. In the meantime, I’ll probably do some gardening on the family farm and keep coddling myself towards better health.
But this post is meant to end on a high and the above sounds sadder than I actually feel – so – I did a quick search through the “image-library” on my blog to see what Christmas-related images were already stored there, and found a couple that show the highs and lows of December, which I’ll include with post-links below. And I also found another image in a random desktop folder that I created about 15 years ago where I shaped my toddlers into a letter-message for the family (as you do! (My children were much more compliant back then… although… I wonder what it would cost me if I could convince them to recreate it for next Christmas!?!))
Have the most wonderful year-end and see you all back here in 2026.
If you’re a chronic-pain person, be sure to take it easy in this busy time of year – be kind to yourself – and remember: you can’t fill up someone else’s teacup if your teapot is empty!
[Me with my wrapping paper inner tubes for the 2024 “Rolling through Christmas” post – I’d like to update you that I have since put them to good use or chucked them out, but alas, I have not; the hoarding continues!]
[Me in hospital on Christmas day about 8 years ago (after 70+ hours of unrelenting migraine pain) – “Happy Holidays Everyone” – and to be clear; I’m the scrunchy-blanket-ball on a drip, not the efficient Santa-nurse!!]
[My daughters spelling NOEL (sort of) for digital Christmas cards about 15 years ago (don’t tell them I posted this or they may never speak to me again!)]
And with all those highs and lows and colorful-contortions in mind: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Take care of yourselves (and your loved ones) all you amazing people – see you in 2026!
Best wishes now and always, Linda x
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PS – if you’re bored over the break, here’s 3 Christmas-themed previous posts you can return to, and don’t forget all my short stories on the GOTHIC tab (here):
The three ghosts of Christmas migraines
The Mindful Migraine 
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