"Prune"
My 2025 intention, goals, year-end review, and Substack superlatives
I have a love-hate relationship with January 1.
I hate leaving what was, and I love welcoming what is to be.
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Instead, I like to select a word, an intention, that sets the tone for the year ahead. Oh, and because I’m me, I usually forget the word within a month or two, so I’m relying on this here permanent record to remind me in the months to come.
The word I’ve selected for this year is: “prune.”
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “prune” (verb) means “to cut off or cut back parts of for better shape or more fruitful growth.”
And, as I stand a little dazed from holiday travel and shenanigans with both feet now firmly in 2025 and look back at my footprints of yesteryear, the word “growth” comes to mind.
In 2024, I reconnected with my creative self and wrote more than I have written in years. I started this publication, Human/Mother, to construct an accountability partner, a reason to do the damn thing. With this concrete place and a renewed practice, I rekindled a lost flame, honed my craft, and became a more confident writer. Today, I sit in deep gratitude for this platform and for all y’all (my readers).
Your support has meant the world to me, whether that was through an opened e-mail, a like, a comment, or a paid subscription. This year, I hope to interact with this growing community more, and I also hope that, through our interactions here, we all feel less alone, less invisible, less lonely.
Looking ahead, I’m ready to prune—to let go of what no longer serves me. After all, we are creatures of habit, and there are certainly some habits that I could say goodbye to. I hope that you’ll join me in this mission.
As far as Human/Mother is concerned, I’m still dreaming and vision boarding what I want this space to look like and be for the next year, but I’m excited to share a little preview of what is to come:
A new interview series (name TBD) where I will chat with other creatives who are also parents and also humans. Each interview will dig into a specific mental health and/or parenting challenge or obstacle. Topics will include parental estrangement, grief, depression and anxiety (including PPD/PPA), ADHD, alcoholism, generational poverty, childhood trauma, dealing with narcissistic parents, eldest daughter syndrome, and psychosomatic therapy. (1x/month)
The return of the Mind-Body-Soul series! I started this series last year as an experiment and promised to bring it back in the new year, and I’m keeping my word. Through this series, I will share things that I find nourishing to my mind, body, and soul. I’m aiming to keep these posts casual and light with an invitation for all y’all to share what’s feeding you. (1x/month)
A continuation of my bread and butter: my thoughtfully-crafted personal essays. I’ve learned the hard way that you just can’t rush good work, so I’m continuing my monthly writing schedule with these posts that are near and dear to my heart. Although the material here is usually heavier, I always make it a point to end on a hopeful note, because, despite life’s pain and suffering, I do believe there is hope and healing. (1x/month)
I’m a type-A personality who loves a plan, but I’m also a realist who fully understands that this plan may get scrapped and/or changed drastically before the year’s end. And—and this a huge “and” for me—I’m okay with that.
We only learn by trying.
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No New Year’s post would be complete without a review of some kind, so, without further ado, here are my top 5 most-read essays of 2024:
My family and I left our home in Asheville. We didn't want to.
To be a mother is to be a home.
How to Eradicate the Loneliness Epidemic
And, because I’m a teacher at heart and I like to praise the winners and encourage the non-winners, here are my top 5 most underrated reads of 2024 (according to me):
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Finally, in the Substack sea of enormous talent, I have to give a shout-out to the writers that I’ve discovered this past year because they make me…
Laugh and/or Cry:
, , , , , , , , , ,Feel seen:
, , , , , , , ,Think:
, , ,Feel inspired:
, , , , , , , , ,Melt:
, , , ,A confident Substacker:
, ,***
All right, y’all! That’s a wrap!
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for staying.
To pruning!
—Katrina
Thank y’all so much for being here! If you liked what you read, please tap that little heart below, leave a comment, re-stack this post, and/or consider buying me a coffee or upgrading your subscription. Your participation and support motivate me to keep doing the thing!
Thank you so much for listing me, I feel so honored that I make you feel seen. I’d also love to do the interview series if you think I’d be a good fit!
Thank you Katrina. It has been so lovely watching your publication grow! Absolutely adore the word prune, what a fantastic word. I love it 🥰