Monthly Musing – December 2025 – As good as it gets
It’s the last day of December, and I’ve spent this week getting our house ready as my cousin is coming to visit us all the way from Canada on Friday.
I’ve been decluttering and decorating, cleaning and clearing. The spare room, which had become something of a dumping ground of late, is now looking fresh and tidy – and most importantly, my cousin can actually sleep in the bed as it’s not covered in boxes of old schoolwork and kitchen utensils not so small daughter didn’t have room for in her university house.
Now, though, as the sun goes down … I am done. Well, for today as there will be some last-minute tidying tomorrow but for now, it’s all as good as it gets, and that’s enough.
“As good as it gets” is a funny expression, isn’t it? It can imply that whatever you’re talking about will have to do, or it can suggest that nothing can be better. In my case, it’s a “will have to do” meaning as I could find a hundred other things to do before my cousin gets here which won’t make her visit any better but will make me less fun as I’ll have worn myself out. However, I know that there will be moments when she’s here when it really will be a “nothing can be better” moment and I wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else. The English language is very complex at times!
2025 has been both versions of “as good as it gets”, and I’m sure it’s not just me who thinks that! In fact, 2025 has been full of highs and lows of every description and this is how it should be. We can’t appreciate the difference between them if nothing changes … and if we’re lucky, everything works out the way it should do in the end.
I’m not one for resolutions these days but one thing I would like to do next year is focus on the “as good as it gets” in terms of “nothing can be better” rather than the other version. There’s nothing wrong with the other version and indeed, sometimes it can be very useful if we are inclined to let the need to be perfect get in the way of simply being good, but I think that sometimes we can set the happiness bar for ourselves a bit lower than maybe we should. Everyone is entitled to joy in their lives.
So, with 2025 nearly over, I wish for you a 2026 that’s as good as it gets in the very best sense of the words.
Happy New Year! 🥂
