It’s that time. I have made another trip around the sun. Birthdays are my favorite holiday. Every time I get one, it’s like a giant middle finger to the world that I was able to survive another year of what life threw at me. I don’t understand why people dislike birthdays. When you stop having them, that’s the problem. It’s not the dates on the stone. It’s that dash in between the dates that matters.

This past year was the worst of my life. I feel lucky to have another birthday. At the old house, I survived the crazed neighbors trying to burn the house down while we were in it, the gunfire that started in June 2025, and the daily harassment. We were able to escape and move several hours away to a safe place. 

It’s hard to sell a house in a neighborhood that bad. Several potential buyers put in complaints to the real estate agents without putting in offers. I had people who offered to buy the house and backed out when they witnessed some of the criminal behavior the neighbors were engaging in when they did their drive-byes of the home. 

What makes my heart ache the most is Jude passing away. He didn’t make it to the new house. He died in that house of horror neighbors. 

Recovery from an abuse situation that horrific is long and challenging. I still have physical injuries from which I am recovering. There is the mental recovery too. After being held at gunpoint, having gunfire right outside my house, and the constant pounding of boom cars, I’m very jumpy now. 

I love being able to sleep through the night now that I do not have people pounding on my door at all hours of the night screaming “Fire!” when there is no fire. When I was growing up, it was illegal to do something like that in a movie theatre. However, if you do that to someone’s house in the middle of the night daily for almost two months, it’s perfectly legal. 

But to get back to the positives of my trip around the sun. All that abuse with those horrible neighbors is behind me. What is ahead of me?

Well, we moved close to one of my two favorite places in the USA. I’m looking forward to spring and summer. Winter has been long and hard. 

As ever, my goal is to outlive the cats so I can keep them together. Jolene and Simon are very closely bonded. Flower seems to have chosen me as her human. My biggest goal and my greatest gift in life is in taking care of them until it’s time for them to naturally pass. 

Simon is the youngest. He will be turning 10 in May. So being optimistic, I figure I need to ty to stay alive for another decade to be able to outlive them. Then, I can do my patriotic duty and go to the euthanasia clinic that I was continuously being pressured to do where we used to live. 

I’m going to just try to enjoy the next decade with the cats and learn our new area. Other than the cats, my goals for live are to live peacefully and try to spread kindness where I can. 

In 2026, I have been trying to do one act of kindness per month. This is something I used to do but completely stopped when the neighbor abuse started because I was so overwhelmed with the daily harassment. So far, I purchased a new book from the library wish list, put $20 towards someone’s grocery bill behind me in line, and have some donations ready for our local animal shelter.

The world really sucks right now. We are all suffering. I figure we might as well try to help in small ways that we can. 

We had a lot of help in getting out of that old house and away from those horrid neighbors. I will be forever grateful for the help we had. It’s the least I can do to try to pay it forward with kindness. 

I’m hoping my next ride around the sun is much more peaceful that the last. If 2025 was the worst year of my life, hopefully 2026 will be better. 

The cats and I are together and that is all that matters. We are finally safe. We are no longer being physically attacked, injured, and harassed daily. 

I’m still here. I’m riding around the sun. I’m grateful to be alive.