My Number is 25

Last year was an interesting year for me.  I experienced many highs and awful lows, which I will not explain here.  I don’t even want to think about it myself – except the big good events.  I decided to make 2025 very exciting for me. I chose my key number for the year as  25.  The number 25 is a BIG number in my life.  It was the day, in July, many years ago that my life started.

It was still wartime – not that I knew it, of course. But a few years later, I learned a little of how it impacted my parents, grandparents, family and friends. The lack of food, housing, and workers affected our lives, and I recall seeing the searchlights scanning the skies looking for enemy planes above the city. We had our evening meal by lamplight, and the house was the home of 6 adults and 3 children.

My parents were both in the Australian Army when they met, and my mother had to be discharged when she became pregnant after they married. The year I was born was 1944, so the number 4 is a number I write on the many occasions I still have to record my date of birth. Yes, I am 80 – 2 times 40, if you like maths.

The house that my father built in 1948, was at 48 Railway Terrace, so the number 4 is a frequent one in my world.

My Plans for the year 2025.

So, what are my plans for the year 2025? I have made some decisions, and many are still “in progress.”

I have, for several years, wanted to return to university and study for a PhD.  Yes, a big step with several years of full-time research. I was accepted a couple of years ago, but did not proceed.  Will I apply again?  Which university?  I do have a plan on what to study and research, but I am not quite ready yet.  However, it is my plan to take further steps towards this study, this year.

Late last year, I was elected President of the Older Women’s Network Queensland – which is quite a demanding role, so my study plans cannot proceed while I am committed to this organisation.  But I can find time to do my planning for the study.

This year I am also going to focus on my writing. I do have a plan to publish a collection of short stories on Amazon Kindle Direct shortly, and I plan to enter three or more writing competitions this year and just may finish two other major writing projects.

I have written about my mother–who passed away several years ago.  I’m just about to add a collection of photos of her, and I will have about 10 copies printed for the immediate family.  This project is almost completed.

Yes, I have also written in my plan to blog more often, and I have been working on a new blog with a special project that I do not wish to promote at this point.

Other plans for 2025 are:

Photography

I intend to print more of my photos on cards (as I have been doing for several years) and give them away to people and request that they write to people who are lonely, or unwell.

And I will do my usual photography – visiting places and writing about them and the pictures.  Then choosing the best ones for my cards.

Travel

I’d like to do some travelling, but for some of my plans I need a new car, but have not got the funds, yet, to buy one. I will be doing a nearly 1000 trip by train from Brisbane to Mackay in Queensland. Do I have other plans for travel this year?  Yes, but no details yet.

Housing

I am pondering moving – no major decisions yet, but I am downsizing and getting rid of many items that I may no longer use. Finding new accommodation is not an easy thing to do, and the downsizing is taking longer than I imagined, but I will keep going until I am satisfied.

Family

I have 4 wonderful grandchildren–2 who lived less than 10 kms from where I live, and the other two around 80 kms away. The eldest moved to Melbourne around 1 year ago, and the second eldest is moving to Darwin in a few weeks.  I will miss them. I plan to spend more time with the two younger ones (both adults) who live an hour’s drive away.  And I will keep in close touch with their parents too.

What is your key number for 2025, dear reader?