A Year of Change
Its Boxing Day and I will be at Stockport County with my boyfriend, a life long supporter cheering on the team, something which is fast becoming a festive tradition of ours. If you a reading this after the festive period, I hope you had a great break and enjoying these #AdventBlogs.
Bina Briggs takes over the blogging duties today and has written many #AdventBlogs in the past, so I am thrilled she had offered to do one this year. Bina is a HR Consultant and provides HR Support for Small Businesses and runs Plain Taking Consultancy. She is connectable via https://www.linkedin.com/in/binabriggs/
Bina has also written The Red Thread which is available on Amazon - https://amzn.to/4p2Yzzh
Over to Bina, for todays blog.
Well, here we are again and for me this year is no different from any of the previous ones when it comes to writing the #Adventblog. Like every year, I have had almost a two months’ time to sit down and write my thoughts on the theme and yet for some reason it hasn’t happened once again. Why break the tradition?!
Having read most of the blogs of the series so far, every day has presented me with a feeling that I could relate to in the post, and that it was something I could have written about myself… So do I still have anything meaningful to add on the theme?
As I write this on 21st December 2025, looking back at the year, it has brought a couple of changes in my life, some good, some not so good. However, it’s life and there is always the flip side to look at and be grateful. I am no different than anyone else.
So what does “It’s time to change” mean? Change is constant and an inevitable part of our lives. My life has been a constant change and as I described in my book “The Red Thread”, every single time a change has come through for me, either enforced or for me to decide on, one great lesson I’ve learnt though all these changes is not to resist but just to go with the flow. It all works out in the end - one way or other.
This year has not been different in as much as work has been going well, the clients are happy. Some have left because their lives have changed or business has changed. We are all affected by change and it’s a bit of a domino effect for most of us, someone’s decision for change in their life often has a ripple effect, for better or worse for the people involved.
We all wish for change consciously or subconsciously in our lives when we wish for better lives, better jobs, better houses, success in everything we do. All these can happen only when we embrace change. So why does the word “change” bring a feeling of dread or discomfort?
We started the year with a change that happened last year when after our summer holiday. Our cat Ellie started showing signs of dementia and bumping into things. Our cat sitter had said that it had been a difficult few days. We had Ellie checked out and found out that she had gone blind and yet she had been managing pretty well, even wandering around in the garden and checking out her usual places. We decided that we would not leave her alone and so travelling together stopped. Her condition deteriorated further by July this year. She was also having digestive problems.
Hubby kept telling me to go away for a few days as I hadn’t been away for a year. I agreed reluctantly to visit a close friend in Warsaw. Whilst there, did a lot of walking over a long weekend and the day before flying back home, my right knee gave way. That was so very painful. I don’t know how I managed the flight home.
It was apparent that I had done some real damage to my knee. So my days became rounds of medical appointments and various diagnosis. The latter half of the year has been much better with the knee’s recovery. A change that has been a long process of recovery. All these past months I have been thinking how much I took my health and mobility for granted!
In the meantime, it was evident that poor Ellie was getting worse. We decided to call it a day. The vet said it was the right decision. We did not want her to suffer any more. Poor Ellie knew. She just stayed in my arms quietly, unlike any other times at the vet’s when she would meow away all the way until we got home. That was a tough day all round. Having been cat people for the last 30 plus years, the house is so very empty. We have decided not to have any more cats. We still can’t stop saying, Ellie we’re home when we get home every time. She used to wait for us / for me to come home from work. She was my shadow.
We have though made up for lost time with a couple of holidays in the autumn.
Oh, on successes, I won two awards this year which kind have helped as well.
All that has happened this year has proved once again that life is full of change and change is constant, so just let it be and accept it.
Looking forward to 2026 with anticipation of better health, balanced work and personal time and most of all, having fun, embracing the change as it happens through the year.
I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Loving and Prosperous New Year - with one last thought; that no matter what the New Year has in store for us, have faith that with whatever the changes are in store for us, everything will always work out in the end.
Ellie the cat