2025 Sucks! (And Yes, I Said That as Politely as Possible)

Y’all, let me just go ahead and put it out there: 2025 has been straight-up trash. And that’s me saying it in the most polite, ladylike way I can manage, because this is a family blog. What I really want to say would probably get me kicked off the internet.

In February, I lost my Nannie—my best friend, my role model, my mama in grandma form. That whole heartbreak was enough to split me wide open. But through it all, my big brother Jimmy was right there by my side.

Now let me fill you in on Jimmy, because if you didn’t know him, you seriously missed out. Jimmy is my brother on my dad’s side. I didn’t even meet my dad until I was 14, and that’s when Jimmy, and his boys Harvey and Ryan, came into my world too. Being a teenager back then, before the cell phone era, keeping in touch wasn’t exactly easy. And then life happened—I married the wrong man (zero stars, do not recommend), and having “freedom” to talk to people wasn’t exactly in the cards for me. So, as much as I loved my Bubba, our relationship went quiet for a while.

But in 2018, thanks to the magic of Facebook, we reconnected. And from that moment on, we talked. Not every day, but enough. Enough that he became my Bubba again.

Then Saturday hit me like a freight train. I got a Facebook message from one of Jimmy’s bonus daughters (and let me tell you, those girls adore him and he adored them right back). She told me that Jimmy had spent the night in a camper at a friend’s after fishing. He laid back in the recliner, went to sleep… and never woke up. Just like that. The coroner thinks it was a blood clot, but we’ll know more soon.

Two people in this world who loved me the most—gone. Within seven months of each other. My Nannie and my Bubba. My heart doesn’t even know what to do with that kind of pain. Once a week, every week, Jimmy messaged me, “I love you, sis.” I’ll never see those words pop up again.

They’ll be having a memorial for him after cremation in October, so yes, another Kentucky trip is in my future. Another goodbye I’m not ready for. Another piece of me that gets left behind.

But let me tell you this: Jimmy was the best brother a girl could ask for. He was funny, he was real, and he loved big. So I’ll keep loving him big, too.

I love you, Bubba. You and Nannie better be up there raising a little hell together—hug her tight for me, and make sure she knows how much I still need y’all both.

And to everyone reading this—if you’ve got a Bubba, a Nannie, a best friend, a neighbor, whoever your “person” is—don’t wait. Call them. Hug them. Send that “I love you” text. Because once those words stop coming, you’ll miss them more than you can imagine.

P.S. I’m still getting a monkey daughter! Go buy some shirts on TikTok!