The Friday Five - Firsts

Successful, attempted and failed firsts...there is always next year.

When I sit down to write, I never know where I’m starting and really never know where I’m going. What started as a list of firsts from my summer, morphed into a year-end recap, making me more curious about 2026 and the firsts that may enlighten my new year. Will sharing this inspire you?

Solidly Successful Firsts.

1. Slept under the stars. For real. A first. And I went all in. Air mattress (like I said, alllll in) on a wooden platform sans tent, the stars and me for one night. Gotta start (and end?) somewhere.

2. Stepped up to the Segway. Forever feeling like an elephant on most boards (surf, skate, scoot), I opted for the Segway on our Boston tour. Maxing out my aura, my family zoomed around town, announcing our tourist status with every tilt of my body.

3. Accepted my first cortisone shot. Huge success. Just mad that when I finally succumbed, the doctor said, “Yeah, people usually wish they had done this earlier.” Sure wish they would have encouraged this when my shoulder took up shop in the freezer months ago.

4. Revitalized myself. My first look at my new teeth (a lengthy journey), my first set of prescription glasses (I blamed my blindness on bad gym lighting…for years?) and my first supplements/hormones and my body feels like it’s getting closer to a new normal.

5. Ventured out. To a museum, a library panel and an AA meeting all by myself. All in the spirit of curiosity. All empowering.

   

   Clearly still in my braces phase here, hiding them with this smirk. So glad those days are done.

Semi-Successful Firsts.

1. Grilling. My chicken is either rubbery or charred and on the best of days, both. Wanna join us for dinner? Ack ack ack. I’ll keep working at it…when it’s warmer.

2. Nuuly. They claim, “Buying is normal. Renting is Nuuly.” But renting felt just as hard as buying and then to have to rent again and again. I’ll stick with being “normal” but forever crave the ideal solution. Could it be this?

3. A football mom. Attending games as often as my heart and calendar would allow, my poor bleacher neighbors endured me verbally and emotionally receiving every single tackle, as if I had been hit. And my child barely played. Extra blessings to football parents.

   

   But this one photo made it worth it. Thankful for talented photographer friends (hi, Tracy!).

4. Procreate (the app, OMG not a human). I crave creating and get lost in my sister’s timelapse videos of her masterpieces. I want to be one with the Apple pencil and its smooth glide across the clean screen. Even after copying her trademark doodles, there was nothing free about the flow and nothing healing about the hobby. I tried and ultimately created something I didn’t delete so not calling it a complete fail.

5. Acronym Development. Never a goal but looking back at posts for inspo, I came across my first - EDTR, pronounced editor. My acronym (that shockingly did not become a global movement) for the organizing process Edit, Donate, Trash, Repurpose. May we all be better editors in 2026.

Zero Success → 2026 List

1. Be creative. Attend a flower arranging workshop. I have my eye on a class at the Design Table.

2. Be chef like. Successfully cook tofu (this may be three years running) and miso (I may or may not have gagged a tad when I used a tad too much in my first attempt).

3. Be new. An updated brand/website and all that comes with that. (If I share it here, I’m more likely to make it happen, I think?)

4. Be brave. Work to be “in print” somewhere digitally or even old school hard copy. (Again, if I share it here…oh sh*t.)

5. Be in community. Host or attend a “stitch-n-bitch.” Crafters unite.

Are there any…

…lifelong “I’ve nevers” you’d like to attempt?

…activities that make you a little scared but worth giving a go?

…treatments/appointments you’re being stubborn about that could change your life?

…places you’d be embarrassed to appear solo as a teen but feel curious about going to now?

…recipes you’re determined to conquer?

…hobbies/crafts/games to learn that will fill your creativity bucket?

…people you want to meet?

As we age, new anything (adventures, friends, skills) can feel harder to come by, scarier to try and easier to avoid. We can blame anything - a lack of time, money, partner, motivation, or confidence - but at the end of day, only we are holding us back from discovering new interests, new conversations, or new passions.

The realistic me knows no one has time to think about this today with Hannukah and Christmas looming. The optimistic me wants you to carve out alone time to think about it (sometime before 2027). Maybe, just maybe, you’ll be amazed by how brave and curious you actually were this year. And hopefully, you’ll be inspired to be even more so in your new year.

With encouragement,

Laura