This year’s New Year’s Eve was definitely the laziest one I’ve had in the last ten years.
Every year on December 31, a few friends come over to hang out, but this year it somehow all fell apart on its own. One friend went partying elsewhere, and Dušík and Andrejka (my best friend since childhood and his girlfriend) ultimately took my advice and stayed home to enjoy some peace and rest. And it actually wasn’t a bad decision at all.
Three weeks before Christmas, some nasty bug struck me down. Four days of fever, blocked sinuses, and then a sore throat so bad that I could barely speak for several days. My GP happened to be on vacation, so because I really wasn’t feeling well, a friend took me to their clinic in Brno for a CRP test.
I left with a three-day course of antibiotics, which surprisingly worked almost immediately. I felt noticeably better within the first 24 hours. Even so… yesterday marked exactly three weeks since I first took to my bed. I don’t think I’ve ever been sick for so long, but this year it’s spreading absolutely everywhere.
And as if that weren’t enough, the day before yesterday I went horseback riding in the woods and got thoroughly chilled. So my throat hurt all morning on New Year’s Eve, and I decided it wouldn’t hurt to slow down a little. After all, I don’t want to start 2026 in bed again and go through the whole thing all over.
Originally, I wanted to take the girls skiing at Dolní Morava on New Year’s Day. My daughter Leia had a ski lesson booked there and was really looking forward to it. But the kids slept until half past eleven, so in the end I called Dolní Morava and rescheduled everything for the next day.
And so we headed out—as we do almost every year—to see the horses.
Quite a lot of snow had fallen overnight by our standards, so we packed the snow racers and sleds and headed to Hostěnice, where we board two horses. The field was beautifully white, silent, peaceful… exactly the kind of New Year’s atmosphere that stays tucked away somewhere deep in your mind.
Bizonka (the pony) and Frosty grazed for a while—of course, I kept it somewhat under control, as frozen grass isn’t ideal for them, but the horses usually don’t care much about that.
In the end, New Year’s Day turned out wonderfully. We enjoyed the snow, exercise, laughter, and the horses, and now I’m sitting at home by the fireplace, drinking hot tea and looking forward to tomorrow. After several years, I’ll finally go skiing again, and in the evening we’re going sledding.
But more about that next time.
I wish everyone the most wonderful 2026—may it be even better than the last one. 🍀
