By Christine Price
Columnist
Amidst all the stress, anxiety, craziness and bad news, my goal is to spotlight and share the good news in our community.
Dear 2026,
I won’t pretend I have you all figured out.
I’m not greeting you with a list of resolutions neatly written in a fresh notebook or a grand plan for self-improvement that will surely unravel by mid-February.
Instead, I’m meeting you quietly, with a cup of coffee in my hands and a hopeful heart.
It’s six in the morning and I’m sitting in my living room, lit only by the twinkle lights of the Christmas tree.
The house is quiet and I feel unexpectedly peaceful as I look out the window at my neighbor’s home, glowing with a holiday light display second only to the legendary lights of Clark Griswold. In the stillness, I find myself wondering what 2026 might hold.
I’m looking forward to coffee this year.
Not the hurried kind, gulped down while glancing at the clock, but coffee with friends – friends I haven’t seen nearly enough lately.
The kind of coffee that grows cold while the conversation warms up.
The kind where time slips by unnoticed and you suddenly realize it’s been far too long since you last sat across from someone who knows your story.
Somewhere along the way, life got busy. Calendars filled. Days blurred.
And before I knew it, months had passed without those easy check-ins and shared laughs.
So, 2026, I’m hoping you’ll give me the gift of time. Time to reconnect. Time to linger. Time to remember that relationships don’t thrive on good intentions alone – they need showing up.
I hope this is the year I say “let’s get coffee” and actually follow through.
I pray, too, that you will be a healthy year. Not just in the obvious ways, though those matter deeply.
I pray for strong bodies, healing where it’s needed and good news at doctor visits.
I pray for energy to do the things we love and the grace to rest when we need to.
But I also pray for a different kind of health – the kind that settles into our lives quietly. Peace of mind. Gentle mornings. Laughter that comes easily. The ability to breathe deeply and feel grateful without rushing past the moment.
I don’t need you to be perfect, 2026. I just need you to be kind.
I hope you’ll be a year of reconnection – not just with friends, but with ourselves. A year where we remember what fills our cups instead of what drains them. A year where we choose presence over productivity, and people over packed schedules.
If I’m honest, I don’t expect fireworks.
I’m just hoping for ordinary days that stack up into something meaningful. Simple joys. Familiar faces. Conversations that remind us we’re not alone.
So, here’s my promise to you, 2026: I’ll try to slow down. I’ll try to make room. I’ll try to answer texts I’ve been meaning to reply to and schedule coffee dates instead of postponing them. I’ll try to be intentional with my time and generous with my attention.
And if I stumble along the way, as I surely will, I hope you’ll meet me with patience.
Welcome, 2026. I’m ready to take you on, one cup of coffee at a time.
When you see good news, and you will, please let me know. I would love to share it. Please include your name, phone number and city you live in and email.
