These are my reflections on 2/22/2026. There are 27 days left of winter.

Greeting

Dear reader, I hope you find this blog post on a calm evening wherever you are. As I write, my evening is also calm and the weekend has closed. What a beautiful season it has been for my partner and I. Although it was not smooth sailing, we have witnessed the Universe lead and inspire us. From December through January and the greater part of February, we have lived through a sort of gateway that transformed us. I felt multiple relationships shift in all domains of my life, and just within the last three months. If you weren’t aware, on February 17, 2026, we had three major events happen close together: an Aquarius new moon, the Chinese zodiac year changed to the year of the fire horse, and Earth had an Antarctic solar eclipse. What a spectacular day! Here’s what has occurred for me personally:

December

In December I helped my mom rescue a one-year-old puppy who was fated to be separated from his original owner because their landlord required the dog to go. The dog’s name is Dino, he’s an APBT mixed with Dogo Argentino. When we were introduced to the pup, we asked many questions and were told that he was good on a leash, crate trained, and socialized. Within a week we realized he was absolutely not trained or socialized and we were in over our heads. We felt a little betrayed because we realized we could not care for this dog they way he deserved. Poor dog was essentially feral and was always in trouble with us. A year is way too long for any dog to not know his name or even understand basic commands. If you never rescued or adopted a puppy, I have to tell you that there is so much context and overwhelm that may come from making this decision! We did have prior experience with large power breeds but this person completely failed to instill structured care and play. Dino was 60 lbs. of raw power and it was impossible for us to control his lunging, jumping, and pulling. So much so that we even dreaded taking him out to potty. We both got hurt from him leaping away from us on a walk. I fell on my ass and hurt my back. One month and thousands of dollars later, we sent him to boarding school for 5 weeks. He came back with a listening ear and a set of learned commands. Dino seemed a lot calmer, too. Since then, life has improved for both dog and humans. Praise and thanks to Creator who allowed us the resources to do so.

January

Dino was in school for 5 weeks and he returned in early February. We were so happy and relieved, yet life immediately brought a new challenge. After recovering from the Saga of Dino and taking lessons on dog-handling, I had a new ordeal in my professional life. My workplace was moving its whole location across the city and all the staff had to pack within three weeks. I work in early childhood education with a medium sized staff. In my own team there are three people: a lead teacher with two aides including me. For most of February we were all packing up at the old site then dedicated 7 workdays to unpacking at the new site. It was incredibly stressful because our class has a lot of furniture and we didn’t downgrade very much. I really didn’t believe we could finish on time. The children were away and we only had a week to finish everything. To top it off, the three of us have very different temperaments and work styles, leading to an ongoing struggle to maintain work synergy. But ultimately we did finish on time and I feel like it strengthened our comradery. That is until the following week where the unexpected led to even more conflict… but I did my best without support and I was ready for a desperately desired weekend!

The next notable event was helping myself reevaluate a friendship I wished was different. Instead of having another talk about boundaries and trust, I quietly disengaged and kept my peace. This was hard for me because I had to be very honest with myself about the level of trust I had with this person and be realistic about what to expect. I had to accept that even though I appreciated the humor, sincerity, and goodness I had to realize that I was being triggered by the lack of availability and unfair effort to maintain connection and interest. Instead of labeling myself as needy I looked at why my other friendships felt fulfilling and decided this person just didn’t match up with what works for me. Additionally, I found that our dynamic was triggering anxious tendencies I worked so hard to heal. I successfully caught myself falling into a friendship that didn’t fit and I decided it was time to dial it back.

If you have read this far, thank you!

Another treasured moment that happened around this time was meeting my cousins after so many years of avoiding contact. It had probably been around 10 years since I had seen them altogether. Maybe 12 years, even. Why so long? I just didn’t feel valued or safe around them. It was like everything led to a misunderstanding, or hurt feelings, or some unintentional conflict. I didn’t want it to be that way but I felt like I was never accepted or that I never belonged or fit in. This winter I met up with them and brought my boyfriend. It was refreshing, and I was so tired because we arrived late at night. I didn’t feel my best but I showed up with someone who made me feel safe and it worked out. We laughed and chatted. We didn’t really catch up in the sense of recapping the last decade, and we didn’t eat much except some fruit and beer, but we were present and shared a relaxing couple of hours. I texted each cousin after and I feel like things fell into place. It was like all the hurt and uncertainty just softly melted away.

Yet again, another significant thing that happened this week was talking to my father on his birthday. I had avoided contacting him as well, for a very long time, almost a year. I addressed some painful history through text just a few weeks before. I decided I wanted to have a simple conversation this time, and to put on hold the serious things. Because I had already initiated those things, it wasn’t like I was avoiding it or hiding from the pain. I just decided it wasn’t time to deep dive yet, and I needed to create a safe space again, even if temporarily. And we ended up talking for an hour, and it was good! I ended up feeling content.

I am feeling a little heavy realizing so much occurred in the past two weeks, but also light hearted and proud of all the work and effort I’ve done. Even if it’s just a notch, I know my next steps forward will not be so hard.

My love and I both had a rollercoaster of a week as far as work goes. For a moment we felt like our team lost appreciation and trust in us because we weren’t being included in the projects at hand. But by Friday things turned around for both of us and saw a silver lining in the clouds.

Oh my god and it was SO COLD all week!

On Saturday we went to the LA zoo and we saw our favorite animals. Later that evening we cuddled together on the sofa to watch the Pixar film, Soul, which made both of us cry. The themes of the story really synced with the long, sad week. We definitely had an emotional moment sharing apologies for past behavior and reaffirming out support for one another.

And now, at this very moment, I’m having a divine cup of chamomile tea after enjoying oven baked salmon with lemon soy sauce and brown rice.

Conclusion

This was probably one of the most significant and transforming weeks I’ll ever experience. Did I mention I had a skin tag suddenly turn black and fall off my clavicle? Do you know how alarming it is to find a black grape on your skin only to see it shrink into a sesame seed and nonchalantly shed away? A literal manifestation of the end of the year of the wood snake.

It is past midnight and it is time for me to sleep. Animals, children, work, family, love, friendship, and body. I also made a few drawings and built a Lego horse. I genuinely feel like a clay vessel that was heated, cooked, and formed. I sense something like an entryway to a new house, like I stepped through a door and I’m standing a few feet inside, and there’s another door before me leading into the front room. I feel a new environment within and without. I hear a melody playing softly but swiftly climbing; I smell a warm woodsy scent putting me at ease; I see a soft yellow-gold glow nearby; I feel cold but there’s an immense clarity and sense that coats my skin. I feel it in my mind as well. I’m grounded and safe.

Something has definitely changed.