2025 In Review

Welcome to our whirlwind year of health scares and globe-trotting joys. We knew 2025 was going to be a lot, what with 3 weeks in Japan and celebrating Shawn’s mom’s 70th in Alaska, but we did not anticipate racking up these kinds of medical stats: 40+ external stitches1, 6 surgeries, 6 imaging sessions, 2 ER visits, and 1 cancer diagnosis.

In light of all that, this year's letter theme is a nod to my favorite show, "Scrubs". The letter headings mimic the show's episode titles, which always start with "My ____"

None of those numbers would have been remotely survivable (or at least not without a lot more tears and a lot less laughter) without one very key variable: Shawn.2 He wasn’t just my chauffeur to appointments; he was my night nurse, pill alarm,3 wound care specialist, and the person who somehow caught every important detail in doctor speak that I missed in my state of total overwhelm. Since October 16 alone, he has re-dressed my wounds every single day - what started as cleaning up after biopsies has now stretched into their respective surgeries and, all told, probably four months straight of daily care on my back. I know this is not how he pictured spending his "funemployment," but I can’t overstate how grateful I am that he’s been willing and able to take on what became a full-time job in itself. If there’s a silver lining to this year’s medical circus, it’s that I’ve had Shawn by my side4 - steady, patient5, hilarious, and infinitely generous, as he has been each year through our last ten together.

At the start of the year and before all the medical drama, we got word that Shawn’s Aunt Linda had been given 4-6 weeks to live. The whole family descended into Indy from all corners of the country to be part of the most wonderfully loving experience I’ve ever encountered, starting with a “goodbye party”6 where not a single eye was dry as she left to go home to rest.

Over the next two weeks, we bonded not just with her, but each other7, as we all played a part in creating the most loving environment for everyone to transition into the next chapter - her into the next world and us into a life without her warmth. It has certainly given me something to strive for in every goodbye going forward.

My dad arrived a few days after we got home in February for a visit with his girlfriend, Lauren, and a few of his friends for a Tahoe ski trip. I took a tumble8 on the slopes at Heavenly and, unable to stand on my right leg, had to finish the day with a ride down in the ski patrol bucket9. Not wanting to rush to the ER, I waited for an already-scheduled GP appointment a few days later.

After getting the X-ray he referred me for, we were strongly encouraged to walk, er, hobble down the hall to the ER for a CT scan. After the scan, the next person to come into the room was a doctor who had seen me on the board on his way out, realized I hadn’t gotten my CT results yet, and dropped by to introduce himself as an orthopedic surgeon, letting us know that he’d already told his office to get us squeezed in the next day to discuss and schedule the surgery I was going to need!

He is experienced enough in this that he did not require an MRI before the surgery, but since I have always had problems with my right knee and realizing I was likely to hit my deductible anyway, I requested one to see if there was anything else that could use his expert eye to see if I could come out of this surgery even better than I went into it. He phoned the results with a chuckled comment: “I don’t know how you’ve been as active as an adult as you have been10, this was injured long ago and is just absolutely shredded. This knee was a ticking time bomb.”

I am so incredibly grateful that the bomb went off while we were living here. You can imagine that in a ski town like Tahoe, the medical system is fairly well-versed in ski injuries. My surgeon, his staff, and the incredible physical therapy team have been with us every step of the way, focused on getting me back to the activities I love.

I felt so encouraged by their confidence that I even dared to include returning to running in the list I gave them. I had stopped running after the Antarctica marathon in 2018 to try to save my knee in case I wanted to check off marathons on the remaining 5 continents.11

Thanks to the graciousness of a family’s decision to donate the organs of their loved one, I received an ACL that, when paired with the repair on my meniscus, set me up for a right knee more capable than I have ever had as an adult.

Thanks to the technological miracle of arthroscopic surgery12, it amounted to only 7 stitches and a post-surgery X-ray! Almost a year later (surgery was Feb 26), I’m still not quite done with physical therapy, but I’m close enough to the finish line that I can actually believe that it truly will be an upgraded experience going forward.

We did have a brief scare in late March when my leg started showing symptoms that we had been warned could be a blood clot. As our local urgent care did not have the ultrasound required to confirm or rule it out, we were directed to the ER. The results were inconclusive, but they remained concerned about the stiffness in my calf and the unusual color and texture of the skin around it. I was sent for my fifth and final imaging of the year: a contrast CT scan (I found the contrast injection so comforting; 5 stars, would recommend). It revealed nothing that they could see, and, with my surgeon on vacation, they sent me home with intensive antibiotics and a message off to the surgeon’s office.

The physician’s assistant under him squeezed us in the next day at their office in Carson City, took one look at it, and hesitated, saying, "It almost looks like a freeze burn." I laughed as I put my head in my hands. Shawn rolled his eyes13 as he said I had been on the cryo cuff constantly in the last week to try to get my swelling down in hopes that the custom brace fitter would clear me to be measured for my active brace before our 3-week trip to Japan, as the current standard-issue one from the first ER trip was so cumbersome.

The PA laughed and said there was a middle-ground option, though he didn’t have them in my size at that office. He sent us off requesting that I stop taking the antibiotics and see him again in 3 days in the Tahoe office so he could take another look to confirm his suspicion and get me the better brace. Shawn promptly banned me14 from the cryo cuff, but at least I got the brace!

This spring, we unfortunately also lost our dear friend Andy, and it’s hard to put into words what he meant. I feel lucky to have witnessed the friendship he and Shawn built - one that made Shawn even more himself, and even more brave about caring for people out loud. Andy had a way of making love and loyalty feel uncomplicated, like something you could offer freely without feeling self-conscious about it.

In April, I got clearance to begin allowing 25% weight on the leg to help me transition back to walking. By my birthday, my PT had me shakily walking with 100% weight. Just in time for us to fly out the next day to begin our trek to Japan.15

While I could walk, I couldn’t immediately walk miles a day as Japan would require. I found a great deal on a

high-end travel rollator

57. The problem: it was in San Diego, and they wouldn’t ship. Thankfully, our friends Brittani and Carlos58 were willing to pick it up, so we flew south for a night to grab it over a wonderful dinner with them before continuing on to Japan.

The other medical wrinkle was that I could not yet carry any additional weight, meaning that Shawn would have to carry everything. We had spent the month prior really drilling into travel capsule wardrobe life and planning out where to do laundry so that we could fit everything into 2 carry-ons and 2 personal items. In hindsight, we realized we could have packed less, since we didn’t end up wearing some things. Of course, we still planned to buy things16 while we were there, so we made sure there was room for a couple of packable duffels to carry things back home. These were also helpful when we split up much of our luggage to use Japan’s extremely cheap luggage-delivery service17, further reducing the amount Shawn had to carry during travel between our destinations.

Before we left for San Diego, we received a notification that a couple of day-of upgrades were available for our international flight. Given the price, my knee, and that it had long been on our bucket list to fly international in lay-flat seats, we snagged them, further justifying18 to ourselves that it was a partial birthday present for me and a partial anniversary gift to ourselves as we’d be celebrating 10 years together while we were there!

In hindsight, I realized I was pretty delusional to think the original upgrade premium economy seats would have been fine for my knee. Around hour 9 (out of 11) of the flight, I was pretty uncomfortable19, despite being able to lie down and having an alert on my watch to remind me to do the exercises I had been told to do every hour.

In Tokyo, we went from plane to train, direct to Nagoya. Thankfully, our

hotel

had a hot spring, which provided immediate relief for my knee after all the travel and let me fully enjoy our time with our friends Brad and Yuko. As an unintended bonus of making their city our first stop, Brad was able to help us make some desperately needed adjustments to the walker with his tools20!

With my wheels in much better shape, we were able to continue on to Osaka for the

World Expo

21, something I never thought we’d get the chance to see. We

stayed the night in a cat cafe

, able to console ourselves for missing our own kitties5960 by playing with the adoptable cats or waking up throughout the night to look through the glass next to our beds to watch them play.

From Osaka, we headed south, bound for a city new to both of us: Matsuyama. I realized that an annual conference for the programming language I primarily use would be just a few days before we were originally scheduled to arrive in Japan22. Excited about the chance to finally attend, we adjusted our flights so I could go. Shawn stayed with me for one night and then joined me for a morning at the

onsen

that inspired the one in the film

Spirited Away

61. Whenever I had access for the rest of the trip, I was in a hot spring at least once a day to help my knee keep up.

From there, Shawn headed to Tokyo for

Star Wars Celebration

(the primary reason for booking the trip originally), while I stayed for another few days62 to enjoy both

Ruby Kaigi

and the local sites with my friend and former co-worker, Nina.

At the conference’s end, Nina and I caught the last train out and parted ways in Osaka. The schedule did not allow me to make it all the way to Tokyo that night, but to my delight, I was assigned to a

train themed inside and out to Tokyo Disney

for the ride to Tokyo the next morning. Even the arrival and departure music for the train was Disney melodies. While in the Tokyo metro system, I learned that Google Maps has an accessibility filter for planning transit routes. Of course, this was only after I found myself at a transfer station without an elevator. Thankfully, multiple generous strangers who spoke no English but could infer enough from my situation and broken Japanese helped me get my walker and small bag (I had shipped ahead my other bag from Matsuyama) up and down stairs to my next platform.

By the time I finally arrived at the Star Wars convention, Shawn was there to greet me at the hotel and promptly take me to a hilarious find he had made a few days prior: Taco Bell23! It gave me enough of an energy boost to walk part of the expo with him and finally meet some of the wonderful friends of his that I had heard so much about for so many years.

It wasn’t long before I couldn’t walk anymore, and Shawn made the hilarious suggestion that I just sit on my walker and he’d push me around in somewhat of a makeshift “stroller” mode so we could take in a few more things24 before heading back. I rested up enough for a brief appearance at dinner with everyone before leaving Shawn to enjoy the night with everyone while I slipped into our hotel’s hot springs for an untold number of hours.

I arrived on the last day of the convention refreshed and ready to take in a snippet of what he experiences every couple of years with all his buddies. While I certainly don’t have the level of fandom to attend a Star Wars convention, it was such a delight to get to engage with it and feel the excitement reverberating off of everyone - from listening to theories of what certain announcements mean to joining in the entire groups’ excitement for what had been deemed “Diego Day” wherein his friend, Catherine, would spend most of the day25 waiting in two different lines to meet Diego Luna.

While I truly love that Shawn has these events as something of his own, I have to admit I was pretty excited to hear that the next one in 202726 would be much closer to home (

LA, in celebration of Star Wars’ 50th anniversary

), so maybe I could pop in for a bit to enjoy everyone’s company again.

With my conference and Shawn’s convention done, the trip turned into an adventure celebrating a milestone anniversary for us: 10 years!

Our first stop was Kyoto, which kicked off with an

8-person-per-night dinner

put on entirely by a single, incredibly talented chef63.

The chef surprised everyone by inviting a maiko (an apprentice geisha) who was a personal friend of his to join us for a beautiful performance and to play some traditional games. Somehow, the night ended with Shawn and me being the only ones left, and we eventually joined Chef Dan and the maiko on a walk through the gorgeously lit geisha district, landing at a secret (seriously, it isn’t even on Google Maps) high-end bar27 where they bring their clients.

At every moment of the trip, as we went to a new place (which was most of them), I had a bit of anxiety about accessibility and whether it would be okay for my walker. Time and time again, I was proven to have wasted my time worrying.

The maiko delighted in calling my walker a car, giving it a new name, "Benz," on account of its swanky look. When we stumbled upon a lovely teahouse while on a walk between

Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple

and

Giōji Temple

on another day in Kyoto, they were quick to notice the walker and offer me a chair, while Shawn kept with the tradition of sitting on the tatami floor. When the paths at the

Okochi Sanso Garden

were entirely gravel, we left my walker in an area designated for parking strollers, and I took Shawn's arm for a few steps64 before a woman ran up to bring me a loaner cane.

Each interaction reinforced a theme we experienced repeatedly on our journey: the kindness of strangers, always willing to offer a helping hand. In the moments where I was too exhausted to keep walking but didn't want to keep sitting, Shawn turned the initial embarrassment of convincing me to go "stroller mode" into a hilarious28 endeavor.

He was even up for trying to see if I could manage climbing through the torii gates of the

Fushimi Inari Shrine

to the top of the mountain, checking my walker in at a nearby luggage locker. It took twice as long65 as it would have on healthy knees, but we managed, boosted by the encouragement of total strangers along the way.

As beautiful as the gardens and the historic temples were, it was the people who made the biggest impression on us in Kyoto. The generosity of staff and passersby, and a night under the stars at a rooftop bar with our Star Wars friend Jess, sharing in the delight of all the wonderful memories we had collected so far. She had brought her teenage son, Baron, along for the trip, and it was both hilarious and genuinely precious to hear about29 the memories they had been making together.

Chef Dan had invited us back on a night of our choosing30 after dinner service, so we opted for our final night in Kyoto. By the time we finally arrived back at

our hotel

, after a night31of laughter with him and a Geisha friend of his that stopped by, the blue light of an approaching dawn was beginning to take over the dark sky.

We made a brief stop in Osaka to meet up with my friend Nina, joined now by her husband and son, for lunch at

Ramen Jinsei JET

66 - one of Shawn’s favorite dishes and very much appreciated by his very hungover state!

We did a bit of shopping32 with them before they had to get to the airport to head home, and we continued on to our next destination, Hiroshima, arriving in time to see the

Peace Museum

before turning in for the night.

Emboldened by the success of our little hike in Kyoto, we spent most of the next day on Miyajima Island hiking up to the peak of

Mt. Misen

. It took 2-3 times longer than it “should” have, but Shawn graciously stuck with me, despite my need to have my healthy leg be the only one to step up and bring the healing one along with every single step after about 15 minutes of trying to use both to ascend. I was truly on the brink of tears of joy by the time we reached the top, shocked that I actually made it and, for the first time in my recovery, seeing how I could eventually get back to doing everything I love again.

Sufficiently exhausted by the time we arrived at the peak, we opted to take the ropeway down and mosey our way back to the ferry through the shopping district. Fearing that if we went back to the hotel, I wouldn’t have the energy to leave again, we opted for an early dinner at

Okonomimura

, a food hall specializing in the area’s famous savory pancakes:

okonomiyaki

67.

The original plan for our actual anniversary on this trip had us on

a multi-day pilgrimage hike on cobblestone paths

. Obviously, that wasn’t going to be an option for my knee, so we swapped to a different kind of pilgrimage: cycling 70km (~45 miles) over 2 days on the

Shimanami Kaido

, which passes through 6 islands and 5 bridges68 for the main route.

We arrived in Onomichi on our anniversary to pick up rental bikes (given my state, we did “cheat”33 and rented e-bikes), dropped our bags with a courier who would have them at our lodging before we arrived that afternoon, and headed for the ferry. After the ferry dropped us at the first island, we would cycle across three islands and two bridges, each with its own bicycle lanes up, across, and down. We stopped to see a garden, an art museum, and multiple ice cream stops before arriving at the midway point in Setoda, where we would be staying the night.

The hot baths at

Azumi Setoda

were a wonderful reprieve before an absolutely delightful celebration dinner in their restaurant, where we were given the gift of a beautiful serenade that brought tears to my eyes. Dare I say I’m happy my knee pushed us into a different way69 to celebrate our ten years?

With an equally wonderful breakfast and relaxation session in the baths again the next morning, I felt torn to leave at all, but ultimately pulled along by the idea of exploring the remaining 3 islands and bridges. The day brought even more treat stops34, gorgeous oceanfront views, and dramatic bridge crossings than the one before. We roamed through the neighborhood streets of the route’s terminus town, Imabari, for a quick stop at a towel company of the same name known around the world. After returning our bikes, we settled in at a hostel for cyclists beginning or ending their adventure, eager for rest.

I took some reprieve in what would be the last hot springs experience for a few days before we boarded our train for a full day of travel to arrive at Yokohama. With an afternoon to kill until our dinner reservation at

Sagami

, we roamed a shopping area where we stumbled upon a full Star Wars pop-up area featuring unique art and, Shawn presumed, merch that did not make it through customs in time35 for the convention, all in service of the upcoming Star Wars “holiday” of “May the 4th.”

As lovely as that surprise was for Shawn, I still don’t think it held a candle to the next day’s stop: The

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

. When our friend Carolyn heard how much Shawn loves ramen70, she gave us a glowing recommendation for this stop. It was a true gem for a ramen-lover, featuring 3 stories of immersive history set within a post-WWII twilight scene that houses not only educational boards but also 8 ramen restaurants71, each serving a different take on the dish. We left, hardly able to walk, bound for our final stop, Tokyo. Great recommendation, Carolyn!

For those of you who have been to and taken advantage of luggage delivery in Japan, you may already be aware of the adorable “mother cat carrying its kitten” logo of the primary company that offers this service, but I bet you didn’t know they have an

entire museum for it

- something I stumbled upon while searching Google Maps for something else. It walks you through the history, gives you the opportunity to dress as a delivery person and attempt to properly fill a case of boxes within the expected time limit, then pose in and beside the adorable trucks. I shocked myself with how excited I was for that unexpected museum find.

Our first full day in Tokyo started with a trek to

small worlds

, a miniatures museum, where we delighted in seeing one of Shawn’s hobbies turned to the max36. This visit kicked off our exploration of Tokyo’s incredible range of creative extremities - a theme we eagerly embraced throughout our time in the city. The day continued with

teamLab Planets

, showcasing a far stranger streak of creativity as we meandered through the distinct experiences in each room. We made a stop at

Cafe de l’ambre

for a pick-me-up to get us through a dinner I had been excited to return to for over 10 years.

On my first trip to Japan, done with my Days of Wonder co-workers, we also concluded our stay in Tokyo, where our group was treated to a tasting menu at

Tapas Molecular Bar

at the Mandarin Oriental, unlike any I had ever experienced. I was excited to finally get the chance to share this with Shawn, hopeful that my nostalgia would not betray me. It couldn’t have as the experience had changed completely, but now told a story through each stage of dinner. In an effort to rest a bit longer before trekking back to our hotel, we killed some time with fantastical drinks at

a bar

within the same hotel, recounting the day’s adventures.

We filled the next two days with cultural experiences like the beautiful

Meiji Jingu

and the innovative art of

teamLabs Borderless

, driven by a relentless curiosity to see where Tokyo's corridors of imagination would lead us. The spirited ambiance of shopping and artisan districts, where we found ourselves making small detours to local and international icons like Fender Tokyo72.

Each night, we returned to squeeze in one more whimsical craft cocktail from our hotel bar,

Whisk

, discussing the day's events before retiring. This nightly ritual was a perfect way to wrap up the day and ignore the growing pile of luggage37 that kept arriving, shipped by us from a previous destination to our final hotel, and laughed at as a problem for future us.

Our final morning arrived, and, with anticipation, we addressed the luggage situation before setting out to soak up one last day before our flight that night. We dove into Tokyo one more time: starting with a morning cultural attraction before it got too busy (

Sensō-ji

today), wandering through shopping districts with Asakusa and Kuramae on our list, and exploring a new part of the city (this time, Ginza's malls and art galleries).

Reviving our spirits at Cafe de l’Ambre once more, we moved on to a late lunch at

a Soba spot

in Ginza, before enjoying one final creative-inspired drink at our hotel and bidding adieu to a city that embraced our search for creativity’s extremes.

The day before, my knee started to make it known how much my frequent trips to hot springs prior to Tokyo (where I did not have nearby access) had really helped it recover from the long days of walking (even though it was greatly assisted by my walker as the day went on). We headed to the airport ridiculously early to take advantage of the

public baths that were on the airport property

73 before the long flight.

By the end of the trip, we were very much no longer “carry-on only” travelers (I place most of the blame on Star Wars merch)38, adding 2 checked bags to our luggage count. With the bags checked and the others stored in a luggage locker, we headed off to enjoy the reprieve of the warm waters before making our way to our gate. Waiting for our chance to board, we briefly mourned that these seats would not lie flat, but, thanks to the recovery of the water, the gracious fact that with tailwinds the flight would be two hours shorter, and the comfort of more memories from an incredible three weeks than I could possibly cram into this letter, we felt pretty okay with it.

A few days later, I was finally fitted for my custom brace, receiving it just in time to take it on a trial hike when Shawn’s cousins, Abby & Lisa, arrived for a visit. As it was mid-May, we still saw some snow patches along the way, but we were still able to get out on a kayaking tour on the lake the next day.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Maine to reunite with more Star Wars friends to celebrate our friend Jimmy’s 40th birthday.

Very much nearly out of PTO myself, I worked during the day for the next week while Shawn and his buddies caught up39 while enjoying the local sites as more of their friends began to arrive for another celebration the following weekend: the wedding of Emily and Kev!

It was a beautiful ceremony hosted by her brother and sister-in-law at their home.

In June, we headed northbound on a flight to Fairbanks, landing in time to watch the midnight40 sun set for a brief hour or so, to celebrate a milestone birthday for Shawn’s mom: 70!

The next few days would see us learning about the Athapascan culture as part of a

riverboat tour

, traveling down the famous Alcan Highway to explore

Denali National Park

on foot with some hiking, by air74 (with Shawn, his mom, and his niece seeing it from

a small plane

that landed on a snowy airfield75 in its namesake mountain’s shadow), and even by water (Shawn and I

rafted the Nenana River within the park

).

The land portion of our trek ended with the whole family

rafting on the Susitna River

76, followed by time to explore the town of Talkeetna77 before we boarded a train south to the port of

Whittier

.

Given its constant cloud cover and deep-water port, the town was built as a backup to house the president should we have lost in WWII. These days, it exists solely to support cruise ships that make use of its deep waters.

On land, the only way in and out is through a tunnel that is shared with cars. Trains and cars alike can sometimes be forced to wait for multiple hours on their side of the tunnel until the schedule allows their mode and direction of travel to enter. While our train was late, thankfully, we didn’t have to wait hours before being permitted use

North America’s longest tunnel

.

After 2.5 miles of darkness, the

Sapphire Princess

, our home for the next week, burst into view atop the brilliantly pale blue waters78. With my knee making its presence more known with each passing hour after the last few days of activity and early wake-ups to set out luggage and catch that day’s bus to the next destination, I took the lessons learned from Japan and made it my first order of ship business to get a spa pass for the week to enjoy unlimited steam and sauna visits.

Our first two days would feature no land stops, but would certainly not be called a “Day at Sea,” as there were specific stops to take in scenery unique to Alaska itself, enjoyed from the water. Aunt Linda had stipulated that a portion of the funds she had bequeathed to all the cousins must be spent on travel. Shawn and I opted to use part of that for an excursion on the first full day aboard, which would have us disembark onto a smaller boat to get closer to the infamous

Hubbard Glacier

79. Along the way, the crew picked up pieces of glacial ice, which increased in number as we got closer to the glacier. With them, they made specialty cocktails, best enjoyed while watching otters play around the ice floes we passed.

The second “sea stop,” as I’ll call it, was a day spent at

Glacier Bay National Park

80. Once park rangers were brought aboard from their station, the ship headed further into the bay before orienting itself to rotate 360° for hours as the rangers’ talks were broadcast throughout the ship’s PA system. The experience isn’t just uniquely Alaskan; it's limited by a very strict permitting system that allows only two ships per day. Should you find yourself investigating an Alaskan cruise, I think I can speak for the whole family when I say to consider only itineraries that include this awe-inspiring stop.

Our first land stop41 brought us to the historic mining town of

Skagway

, where Shawn and I were the first ones off the ship, eager to stretch our legs and find a local coffee shop to grab a drink and walk the town with before crowds arrived later.

Our excursion for the day would have us riding bikes from Canada42 into the US! We've driven and flown across the border before, but going across on a bike involved having our guide hand in everyone’s documentation at once to border patrol while we waited for his signal that we were allowed to bike

through the gate

together.

Later that day, the whole family would cross the border and back again at

White Pass

on a train, passing by relics43 and old hiking trails from the town’s gold rush days.

At the next port, Shawn and I arose early to again grab a local coffee and see the state’s capital of

Juneau

before our day’s excursion. Unfortunately, our helicopter ride with glacier hike excursion was cancelled due to weather, so we opted to rent a car for the day and simply drove to the end of the road, where a park with a boat ramp access greeted us. Juneau truly has no roads connecting to the outside world; everything arrives by boat or plane! As we made our way back, we made a stop to see the

Mendenhall Glacier

, though we skipped the short hike out to see it close up, as my knee wasn’t steady enough for the gravel beach travel. For kicks, stopped to see what wonders beheld an

Alaskan Costco

(mostly bald eagles81 eagerly awaiting their own slice of Costco pizza outside).

The next day, with my knee getting louder and the spa not opening until late morning, we went for a soak in hot tubs before disembarking for our local coffee tradition in

Ketchikan

. We joined the rest of the family for a walk through town following a creek the salmon return to each year, stopping at the

Totem Heritage Center

to marvel at the beautifully historic pieces of art.

As I sat with the youngest niece and nephew that night, enjoying a sing-along screening of Wicked on the top deck, I was grateful that the next day would be a relaxing day at sea. The only things on the schedule were a wine tasting and crushing more folks at a round of Speedy Sudoku - the prize being a hefty Princess Cruises wine stopper44 and I walked away two before we disembarked for the last time in Vancouver.

Once there, a subset of us spent the day riding bikes around

Stanley Park

and exploring Vancouver on foot. We parted ways that afternoon as they caught their plane back east, and Shawn and I returned to our hotel for the night.

In the morning, we arose early and headed to

the train station

with our passports in hand for another border crossing by train. Within a couple of hours, our train was stopped as agents boarded and checked all our passports82 again before allowing it to continue south towards Seattle. In Portland, we transferred to a tram, then a bus, and then, finally, a plane home to Reno.

We enjoyed a quiet Fourth of July at home, riding our bikes to our local beach to watch the fireworks, before packing our bags yet again to fly east to New York. While I could carry some weight45, I still couldn’t manage my own bags and such, so Shawn joined me for what was otherwise a work trip for the week. In the evenings, we caught up with my grandfather or Conrad for dinner, while my days were spent in a conference room as Shawn sent pictures of his city explorations!46

Before the end of the month, we popped down to Vegas to mark Beyoncé off our concert bucket list and were surprised to be able to mark off Destiny’s Child before the show ended!

In August, I made my first unofficial return to a ski resort when we stepped onto the slopes of

Buttermilk

in Aspen, where a 2-day music festival,

Up in the Sky

, was being held. We finally saw Rufus du Sol live to close out the first night. One of our favorite acts, Kacey Musgraves83, closed out the second.

The hits kept coming as we hosted our friend, Ed, over the next weekend as part of a detour on his way from Maine to Modesto.

Throughout the summer, if we weren't traveling, many of our weekends were busy with local happenings.

With sights on trail crew projects47 , we renewed our certification for Wilderness First Aid and took our first Sawyer Certification course with the forest service.

Later in the summer, Shawn made more progress on the deck and also refinished our siding. When the weather cooled in the fall, he retreated indoors and focused on getting our wood stove replaced.

While we did not end up hosting any PCT hikers this summer, we delighted in hosting more friends from afar. Our trail crew friend Bob came to stay before heading out on a local trail project. A few weeks later, we welcomed our friend, Oliver, during his stop in Tahoe on his California road trip.

One of Shawn’s Star Wars buddies, Sal, 48 invited us to join him at the premiere of the second season of the Lego series “Rebuild the Galaxy” held at

Lucasfilm HQ

itself in September. Yet again, I found myself in a world still very unfamiliar to me, but what a joyous experience to see people so involved in something they loved so much. I did prepare by watching the first season with Shawn. I have to say, Lego Star Wars84 is the best Star Wars, and I’ll definitely be keeping up with those.

Shawn’s birthday month (October) kicked off with another music festival:

Aftershock

49 in Sacramento. We arrived back in Tahoe to show Shawn’s visiting aunts and uncles (hailing from both Modesto and Indiana) our favorite spots around the lake.

A few days after their departure, we spent his birthday at a gallery opening event for one of his favorite local photographers,

Ian Ruhtler

. The following week, we celebrated a bit more with another quick Vegas trip for the

When We Were Young

festival. We also finally saw

Bellagio’s “O”

85 show, probably our favorite of all the Cirque shows we’ve seen so far.

As stated at the top of this ridiculously long letter, I racked up quite a few medical stats this year, and the observant among you may have noticed I didn’t hit them all with my knee. Before we got to the end of the year, I wanted to make use of the fact that I had hit my out-of-pocket50 max in two ways.

First up was to see if I could get the most pain-free option of swapping my IUD covered by insurance. One day, I’ll eventually capture all the routes I’ve taken to make this procedure easier each time in its own post, but for now, I feel obligated to share that insurance actually covers general anesthesia for it, though the co-pay is usually around $1,500. Thankfully, for my “year of the out-of-pocket max,” it was a whopping $0.00. I fully recognize I likely won’t be able to justify paying for this option on my next swap, but more and more pain mitigation options are becoming available each year, so who knows what will be on offer by the next one. A worthy add-on to a new knee, would recommend.

Second, I finally decided to part ways with my tonsils, which seemed determined to become infected every winter. My ENT recommended a septum repair, along with shrinking the nasal passages or 'airway tunnels' that puff up in response to irritants. The goal51? To end my dependency on Flonase52. Since I was already going under the knife, I figured I'd tackle it all at once. Once insurance gave the green light, the surgery was scheduled for December.

While the aftermath wasn't exactly a stroll in the park, it was much more manageable than the horror stories I'd heard about adult tonsillectomies. I found that keeping a humidifier nearby helped enormously, as did indulging in popsicles and ice-cold water. And of course, the narcotic pain meds and steroids (starting about five days after the surgery) were crucial for my recovery.

With the tonsillectomy already scheduled, I got the results from a record-setting skin check (6 biopsies when I typically have 0-2!) the night before my IUD swap procedure. One had come back with confirmed melanoma, and they asked me to come in at the earliest appointment the next day to get another biopsy on a nearby mole that, in light of this diagnosis, could also be suspicious. They wanted confirmation on it to be able to plan for the melanoma removal, which needed to be done within the month, so they needed those labs back sooner rather than later.

In the end, I required 3 separate excisions on my back that made up the rest of the surgery and stitches count for the year’s stats. That last one was just a few days ago, as I write this in mid-January of 2026, but I’m counting it as part of 2025’s drama.

With the skin on your back being so tight, I needed enough time in between the surgeries to allow it to heal enough to be able to handle the next one. And because we move our back skin so much, especially where my new scars are, I have to wear a brace for 4 months (the clock being reset with each excision) to prevent them from becoming uncomfortably thick keloid scars. If you happen to see me before the middle of May this year, be prepared for the dorky brace53.

Call to action: Schedule your skin check if you haven’t had one in a while. If you notice a mole change and your dermatologist doesn’t want to biopsy, get a new dermatologist. I’m surprised how many people have shared this exact scenario with me. My dermatologist has seen it frequently when patients come to him for a second opinion and is appalled by the odd resistance to biopsying something that a patient has explicitly seen change. As part of this diagnosis, my skin check schedule has now gone from once a year to every 3 months for at least the next 2 years, barring any new findings. If it helps you to be aware of other areas to pay attention to, I was surprised to be told to inform these doctors of the diagnosis: OB/GYN, dentist (check your gums and tongue), and optometrist (I guess I finally have to go see one for the first time in my life).

On the first day my ENT cleared me to fly again, we packed our bags and the cats to fly east for the holidays.

We had a wonderfully quiet visit that included a day trip to a local ski hill near Cincinnati,

Perfect North Slopes

.

We brought along Shawn’s niece and nephew, Sam and Chase, who were new to skiing and very quick54 to absolutely blow past me and my new knee and brace (this was the first ski outing since the accident).

While in Indy, our sister-in-law, Kate (a nurse), graciously agreed to remove my second set of sutures. Hopefully, Shawn was paying attention,55 as we were also given a suture-removal kit after this third surgery. We’ll see how he does56 in a couple of weeks.

Here’s to a much healthier 2026!