It is easy to look back on the previous year and only notice what went wrong or dwell on any unfulfilled dreams. Certainly I have had quite a few things go wrong in 2025 and some of my plans did not come to fruition. Looking back at that has a purpose and can be an opportunity to learn from mistakes. But stopping there I think is a mistake. It is also helpful to look back at the things I did well so that I can learn from those too. Here are some of my 2025 highlights.
January
I had the opportunity to continue to learn from some accomplished composers. I enjoyed regular massages and swam regularly. I was fortunate to have steady employment that met my financial needs. I made progress with my harp playing and posted quite a few harp videos to youtube that were well received.
February
Swimming, massages, and composition lessons continued. I also had the opportunity to play my harp at two different Harp Shares, played my harp in church, participated in a handbell workshop, and learned a lot in my voice lessons. So, my music life continued to grow and develop.
March
Swimming, massages, composition, and voice lessons continued. I had the opportunity to play handbells in a local workshop and concert. It was a really fun event and I learned so much. I began exploring opportunities for opening a virtual psychology practice and made some decisions about that. I also attended the local Celtic Festival. It was not as great as I had expected in terms of food, venders, and ambiance, but I saw the Harp Twins perform and they were spectacular.
April
Family came to visit in April and we went to Meow Wolf. I really enjoyed the family visit but I can honestly say that I don’t understand the point of Meow Wolf. I continued swimming, massages, composition, voice lessons, and playing my harp just as before. I finished setting up my private practice. I also continued regular letter writing with friends who live geographically distant.
May
I continued all of the regular activities. My church choir sang one of the compositions I wrote. Exciting! I also started setting aside time to do more cooking. I don’t enjoy the cleanup, but I really like preparing food in individual portions to freeze for easy weekday lunches. I had several extra opportunities to play my harp at church and in the community. I got a new windshield on my Jeep. You might think that is a negative, but it really was a relief to get it done. My private practice started growing too.
July
Wow. July was an exciting month. The biggest highlight was my participation at the Harp in Worship Conference. I learned so much and enjoyed spending time with other harpists. It was a long drive to get there but well worth it.
August
I was able to continue most of the activities I had done through the previous months, including music performances, but there were not a lot of outside activities since the weather was so miserable.
September
I was asked to play for many events in September, both harp and piano. That is always a lot of fun. I played handbells for a fundraiser at my church, and had a few vocal performances too. I finished two compositions. One was for piano and the other for voice/harp. I also had a fitting for a beautiful dress I had purchased for an honors banquet. I don’t get dressed up that often so it felt really special.
October
October was also a big month for me. For several months I had been planning a choir workshop that my son Josh was coming to lead. Basically, I was doing all of the advertising, organizing, etc. That event occured at the end of the month and in my humble opinion was a great success. Even though that was a lot of work and took quite a bit of time and energy, I managed to keep up with most of those previously mentioned activities that are so fulfilling for me. I might have slacked off a little bit with the exercise though.
November
The biggest change that I noticed in November is that a lot of my music performances were with other people instead of solo endeavors. I did not film as many harp videos as I had intended during this month. The music I was learning was much more difficult, work was a little crazy, and it just seemed hard to carve out the time to set everything up. I attended a workshop presented by people who compose for handbells. That was fun and something I want to do again. I enjoyed Thanksgiving Day. For me, its usually a restful and quiet day at home. I did cook, but nothing that really stressed me out.
December
December is a busy month for most musicians I think. That was definitely true for me. I had multiple harp gigs, plus all of the music that occurs at church during December. One of the highlights each year is going caroling right before Christmas. We usually go to assisted living facilities and homes of people from the congregation who need a little extra cheer. I love being able to use my music to make people happy. Even though December was just a few weeks ago, it is mostly a blur in my mind.
So what did I learn from that retrospective? Music fills my soul, while work only fills my bank account to enable me to do all of the musical things I love. I also noticed how important it is to me to share my music with others and not just do it as a solitary hobby. Caring for my body with exercise and massage are also critical and not something I want to put on the backburner. I gain knowledge, but also inspiration, by spending time with people who are experts. I’ve been told before, but didn’t really understand until now, that it really is valuable to hang around with people who are already doing what you want to do.
I encourage you to do your own retrospective on 2025. What insights will inspire you to create a 2026 that brings you joy?