As you may know from reading my previous stories, I am writing this in January 2026. I fell behind last year and stopped writing my Blog in the middle of the year. So now I’m catching up and decided to put the last three months of the year into one story. So this one is about my 4th quarter, 2025.

Let’s start with my new job that I started in mid-October. This was cold calling (like my previous job), but many of the leads were from people themselves looking for our services. We sell tax debt relief services. It’s a company headquartered in Southern California. I started my new job on October 14th, this month marks my 90 day anniversary. So far it’s gone well. It’s not easy work. Not at all. There are three of us sales agents plus a supervisor. We all speak English well and sell mostly to US residents in English, although there are many Spanish-speaking calls. The company is hoping to grow the call center by adding new employees in January.

This, like the previous job, pays a small base plus commission. I enjoy my coworkers and the trainers that came out from California were really nice. But again, it’s not an easy job. Selling our services isn’t cheap and we come up against objections (mainly due to price) often. I had 4 sales in November and 2 in December. Our goal is 10 sales a month. So far, none of us have made that. Now that tax season is upon us, we are told sales should be increasing. I am hopeful.

So, working 5 days a week, 40 hours isn’t easy now at my age. I was too used to being home, laying by the pool and just relaxing in my retirement. But that has drastically changed. Many of you reading this likely don’t know that I’m back at work. But that’s where I am at in my life right now. I don’t see any vacations coming up, not even a visit to LA. Not for a few months anyway.

October rounded up with my mother’s birthday on October 23rd. She would have been 93. I worked on this day. No celebration. No tears. Just quiet acceptance. Here’s a couple of pictures of Petra on her 90th birthday in 2022. Love that smile. I miss her every day. I frequently want to pick up the phone and call her. I remember years ago telling my good friend Maureen, “I can’t imagine a world without Petra.” Well, no imagining. I’m living in that world. And it’s not easy.

November is a bit of a blur. I was working now full-time and adjusting to that. But the month did start off with a “bang”. I had purchased tickets to a concert a couple of months back. The Gipsy Kings were scheduled to play in Puerto Vallarta one night, on November 2nd (Dia de los Muertos actually). The Vallarta Theater is in the downtown area (Centro) where traffic was expected to be heavy due to the holiday and parking is notoriously unavailable, so I took an Uber. It was a great concert. The theatre is a good size but the climb up to the “cheap seats” was very steep. On my way down myself and another older woman held on to her husband’s arm going down the stairs. Thank goodness. Most of you know that stairs are not my friends.

I don’t do much these days. I’m mostly tired when I get home in the evenings (I work 8:30am – 5:30pm). I eat a little dinner and relax, going to bed early. My weekends are spent visiting with friends, grocery shopping, and staying home with Lola. It’s not a complaint really. One has to accept one’s circumstances and do everything to be comfortable, safe and happy. And I do just that.

I did have a bit of a busy and fun month between work, a concert, birthday party and visitors. I met a lovely young couple who happen to park next to me in my apartment complex. I started a conversation with them when I saw their car license plate… from California. She is a teacher in the American school in Puerto Vallarta (very close by) and he works from home. They have two little kids and she invited me to their son’s 5th birthday pool party. Of course I was happy to attend. It was a Spiderman-themed party so I found him a Spiderman swim shirt and pencil case for school. He immediately put on the shirt and posed for a pic. A lovely lovely family!

My dear friends Steve and Pam were on a cruise from Los Angeles with a stop in Puerto Vallarta. This was on Thanksgiving week. Since my office is right next door to the cruise port, I was able to meet them for a late lunch very nearby. I took the afternoon off. We had a great lunch, a good long visit and I drove them back to the cruise ship. It was so great to see them! The month ended with Thanksgiving. I didn’t have any plans so I stayed home most of the day Our office was closed this day (yay!). I decided mid-day to see if I could find somewhere nearby to get a haircut. I was tired of all the layers in my hair, as it’s been growing out. I found a very nice salon not too far that could see me in the early afternoon, so off I went to get a short, short haircut. It’s all one length again. It’s the shortest I’ve had it since I got a Dorothy Hamill haircut in high school (remember that?!). I don’t like short hair on me. But now I’m ready to grow it long. The night ended with dinner with my dear friend Eduardo (aka Eddy). No turkey, but it was a good Mexican meal.

This now takes us to December. For the last couple of months my best friend Suzette (from Detroit) has been planning a trip to PV with a group of friends. Since I work during the week, we agreed to meet on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night (1st picture below) was at a small boutique hotel in downtown PV where her friends were gathered for a birthday dinner. I was invited which was great. The second and third pictures below are of our Sunday brunch in Marina Vallarta. We spent the afternoon visiting the mall and a grocery store where she did some shopping. She and her friends were staying at a beautiful apartment in Centro (downtown PV). It was so so great to see her. We hadn’t seen each other in a few years.

The Christmas and New Year holidays were quiet ones for me. I worked 1/2 day on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. We worked the day after Christmas and January 2nd as well. Christmas Eve I spent with Lola at home and Christmas Day I was invited to a late lunch with my Canadian friends in Bucerias. It was really nice to be among old and new friends. It was a buffet of turkey, ham, salads, mashed potatoes and pie. New Year’s Eve I was also at home with Lola watching Netflix and Prime movies. New Year’s Day I spent at home as well. A quiet holiday season for me this year. And that was just ok!

My e-Christmas card is included below. Lola loves to pose for pictures! I saw a post on social media recently, maybe it was Instagram. The young woman on the post said that every once in a while she orders a coffee and when asked “Name?” she gives her mother’s name… just so she can hear someone say it. So I did that recently. Of course, it was not a coffee but my favorite Chai Latte. And when asked, “Name?” I gave them my mother’s name. It was nice to hear “Petra?” at my local Starbucks. Also, even though I am not a Coke drinker, I believe Mexico is the #1 consumer of Coca Cola in the world. That said, I found a Coke Zero in the supermarket and I had to buy it. I remember the Coke motto from years and years ago, “Have a Coke and a Smile” and I did just that.

I leave 2025 behind me. A long year. A tough year. A sad and devastating year. The year that Petra breathed her last. We, I, must keep marching forward. Whatever comes, I must be ready. Always making decisions with a positive mindset and trying to make an encouraging difference in those whose life I touch. Onward, friends, onward!