They say time flies when you’re having fun, but it seems time flies, even in the tough times. Perhaps that’s a good thing if it means leaving the tougher times sooner. How are we already in April?
2025- A Tough Year
2025 was a tough year for Ben and I. We said goodbye to two dogs, both who lived long happy lives, but it’s always tough to lose them. We had multiple things breakdown, from appliances to vehicle issues, plumbing issues, and the furnace giving out.
I’ve started this blog post several times, and struggled to finish it; largely due to the crazy year we had last year and time getting away from me. I really do intend to blog more, but it always seems to be less of a priority when life gets crazy and busy.
2026 has started off better for us than 2025 so far overall. We added two kittens to our family; Artemis and Ares.
Ben’s Health
The peripheral neuropathy Ben was diagnosed with over a decade ago now continues to progress. His hands continue to lose more feeling, and yet are painful at the same time, and he is slowly losing the fine motor control in his hands. He is finding ways to adapt as he can, like getting a special computer mouse and game controller instead of a regular computer mouse to counter random clicks and mistakes made when the nerves in his fingers don’t work as they should. We use rubber grips to open most jars, bottles etc, to limit the pain and pressure on the hands and he also wears gloves for some things when he can.
His feet are painful, and sometimes swell up, which means limited walking and standing. Ben fell last winter once outside, but thankfully wasn’t hurt. Due to the large and small fiber neuropathy, he is in pain most of the time and stumbles easily now, due to the loss of muscle control in his feet and legs. When we go for walks, sometimes he takes a cane to make it a little bit easier.
The reality is, neuropathy just gets worse, especially when they can’t find the cause. We continue to try different strategies, hoping to find more that will work, and supports that will actually help, but they are limited.
Cindy’s Health:
Overall, I’ve been doing good. Since the accident especially, I have a lot of stiffness, especially early mornings in the winter, but giving myself extra time in the mornings helps. I still have wrist pain too, especially when anything cold touches the wrist/fingers.
As we enter spring, I look forward to starting our summer gardens and enjoying lots of time outside! We’ll try to share some of our adventures this summer, either here or on the Trails from North Country blog that we hope to start back up this summer.
Photos From Our Adventures
A few photos from the adventures we’ve been on so far this year:
And The Adventures Go On
I’ve been thinking lately about a post I made a few years ago, What Would Life Be Without Adventure? Sure, 2025 was a hard year for us, and while 2026 has started slightly easier, it hasn’t been perfect either. But like so many years, it has been, and continues to be an adventure.
Mindset is everything. It’s not always easy to keep a positive mindset, and we have to be careful not to have toxic positivity, but rather, as Colossians 3:2 reminds us, to keep our mind on things above, not on earthly things. It’s not pretending to be fine when we aren’t, but choosing to focus on the things that really matter instead of what is temporary. This is far from easy. It’s a daily process of taking captive every thought and choosing to find the good things, even when times are hard.
This winter, we went on yet another epic adventure. We didn’t have furnace issues; our “pet dragon” refused to blow its fire to keep us warm. Our vehicle AKA “horse-drawn carriage” needed a “farrier” to set things right. We lost two faithful companions along a treacherous and necessary journey, and while their loss was extremely hard and painful, we were able to stay with them until they left this adventure for the next.
And then we added two more companions to our crew, got a new “pet dragon” to keep the house warm, and enjoyed time together. We went on birding expeditions to see as many birds as we could, went on quests to get groceries, and watched the season slowly begin to change after a long, cold, snowy winter.
What would life be without adventures? Sure, the dangerous, challenging, life-changing, sometimes even life-threatening adventures are usually not our favorites. But there are good adventures too. The beautiful sunrises, the way a sandhill crane glides into an open field on an early spring day, and first flowers popping up from the ground are all things we look forward to. It doesn’t mean the tough days are easier, but it means we can find joy even when those tough days come.
Today is Easter Sunday, and I feel like today is a perfect example of this. Today, we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, but three days prior? Three days prior, the world seemed dark. The adventure was hard, tough, terrible. And then just like that, 3 days later, a stone rolled away and the adventure changed from horrific to the best adventure that ever happened. Easter reminds us that the hardest chapters aren’t the end. There is so much more that is yet to come. And the adventures we’ll go on between now and then? They are nothing short of incredible, especially when we keep our mind focused on what is yet to come. Mindset is everything.
And today? Today, we celebrate the greatest adventure of all time. Happy Easter!
Until next time,
Cindy
Tales From North Country 