Gifts of GRATITUDE

Michéle has some important lessons to share from the past 12 months

- MICHÈLE A'COURT

As we wave goodbye to 2025 – some of us possibly with a middle finger extended – I am considering its gifts.

A Pollyanna by default, I try to focus on the good bits. And honestly, this year has not been an annus horribilis for me.

Not all the people I love can say that, so rather than bathe in survivor's guilt, I'll exercise gratitude. I'm sure I'll get my turn again. I'm grateful, then, for things I did not know until this year taught me – some big, some small.

Here's one: plant food actually works. I thought it was a consumer con, but it turns out a teaspoon in the watering can now and then makes a visible difference. My cyclamen won't stop flowering and the peace lily is going off.