I love a ritual—especially one that involves handwriting, nostalgia, memory keeping and self-reflection. In January 2022, I started a new ritual, aptly titled “New Year’s Day Cards.” At the end of every month, I’d write out a note to myself. It might contain wins or losses, highlights or lowlights, observations or just tiny things I wanted to remember. As I’d planned since New Year’s Day 2022, I sat down and opened the sealed envelopes at breakfast on New Year’s Day 2023 in m

Like any story worth investing in--the kind that can sweep you up into its enthralling grip--turning the page is the only way to find out where the story leads, taking with you the sum of the story thus far. My life is that story. Ken isn't a footnote in my story, he's the theme. That won't change. And as difficult and heartbreaking it is to face a new year without him, part of me--maybe a selfish part--can say with relief "this isn't a year where Ken is sick" and at the very