2025 is about to end, and my wife has decided this year’s Advent calendar will feature a daily question for each of us at home to answer. I don’t care about Advent calendars, and I don’t feel I have the energy to play that game right now, but she wanted me to be involved and make it a family thing, so I guess I’m in.

The second question she asked was: What is something you have learned this year?

My answer, which, by the way, worsened everyone’s mood a little bit, came to mind right away: Life is fragile.

Last Summer, I had an accident while trimming a tree in the front yard and broke a vertebra. As painful as it was (it was!), and as long and tedious as the recovery has been (too long), I was lucky because it didn’t affect my bone marrow. But with spine injuries, you never know… I could undoubtedly be in a wheelchair or worse right now.

It may sound dramatic, but it’s true. We never know how or if we will be in the next minute. Be careful and, at the same time, carpe diem.