From Sober October to Cork Carry On: A Year of Highlights and Lowlights
Esther McCarthy has long written about everyday resilience, but 2025 felt like a real-life meditation on endurance, gratitude, and community. This year brought a mix of personal milestones and quieter moments that remind us how a year can hinge on small victories and surprising turns. Here is a reflective look at the highs and lows that defined 2025 for a Cork-based writer and observer.
Highlight: A Spare Kidney, A Full Heart
One of the year’s most profound moments arrived when Esther’s 16-year-old nephew, Kieran, received a kidney transplant. Even now, saying it aloud feels unreal. The relief, the gratitude, it is a new lease on life for him—and a powerful reminder of how medical breakthroughs transform families. The experience underscored a universal truth: certainty is fragile, but hope can be enduring. For Esther, watching Kieran’s recovery became a beacon of resilience, a testament to modern medicine, and a personal reminder to treasure every ordinary day that follows a life-changing event.
Lowlight: The Quiet Costs of Healing
With every major medical milestone comes a ripple of consequences. The emotional rollercoaster of decision-making, the reshaped routines, and the new normal of hospital visits can be draining. The year’s lows weren’t dramatic headlines but quiet, practical hurdles: the long road of aftercare, the adjustments for family members, and the ongoing vigilance that accompanies transplant journeys. These moments, though challenging, offered lessons in patience, empathy, and the importance of a supportive circle that can lean in during difficult days.
Carrying On in Cork: Everyday Momentum
“Cork carry on” isn’t just a phrase; it’s a way of living through the ordinary and extraordinary. 2025 offered opportunities to reconnect with the city’s energy, its people, and its slower pace. Local events, community conversations, and the simple pleasure of a coffee break with friends became the steady drumbeat beneath the more intense moments. The year also highlighted the importance of place—how Cork’s streets, markets, and riverside walks can offer a sense of grounding when life feels unsettled.
What 2025 Taught About Gratitude and Growth
Looking back, the year wasn’t about spectacular achievements alone. It was about the small, repeated acts of care that accumulate into resilience. Sober October, a personal experiment in clarity and discipline, set a tone for mindful choices. The transplant journey, while focused on Kieran’s health, reminded Esther (and readers) that gratitude extends beyond the person directly affected to the wider circle of family, friends, and healthcare workers who support recovery.
Lessons for the Year Ahead
As the calendar turns, the lessons of 2025 point toward balance and community. Prioritizing wellbeing, maintaining open conversations about health and fear, and cherishing everyday moments—these are not flashy resolutions but practical commitments. For Esther, the past year reinforces a truth many writers know: the most meaningful narratives emerge from honest reflection, shared stories, and the quiet courage to keep going even when the path isn’t perfectly clear.
Conclusion: A Year of Real-Life Narrative
2025 has been a chapter of endurance, gratitude, and Cork’s enduring spirit. The highs—and the necessary lows—have woven together into a year that feels both personal and universal: resilience lives in ordinary streets, in family conversations after a hospital visit, and in the steady act of choosing to carry on.
