A New Year, A New Transition: Lessons from Loss, Love & Letting Go

The beginning of a new year, often invites thoughts of fresh starts—new goals, new habits, new visions of who we hope to become. But this year, my New Year began with something far more raw, enlightening, and human: transition.

A few days ago, we lost my stepfather, Myron Bernard Nevels. He was a DAWG—old school, respectful, dependable, social, and no-nonsense. He took incredible care of my mom, and life for her will look very different without him.

And with his passing came another shift—my mom’s move into an assisted living facility.

That decision carried two emotions at once—grief and relief. Relief that she is safe, supported, and cared for. Grief that the home she shared with her husband now holds memories of what was, not what is.

Transitions are like that—uncertain, difficult, emotional. They require us to hold two truths at the same time:

Something is ending.

Something is beginning.

The New Year often celebrates beginnings. But beginnings are born from endings.

This season has invited me to learn a different kind of resolution—not one rooted in productivity or performance, but in presence and patience.

Here’s what transition is teaching me:

1. Love expands when we let go

Letting go is not abandonment. It’s honoring change.

Love doesn't shrink when roles shift—it stretches. I’m no longer just a son. I am also a caretaker, an advocate, and a witness. Love evolves if we allow it to.

2. Grief and gratitude can coexist

Some days the loss is heavy. Other days laughter comes easily as memories surface. I’m learning that wholeness is not the absence of pain—it’s the integration of it.

3. We are not meant to transition alone

Family, friends, community—these are the hands that steady us when the world tilts. Asking for help is not weakness. It is wisdom.

4. Transition is not just a passage—it’s a teacher

It asks us to reflect on who we were and invites us to consider who we are becoming.

As I step into this New Year, I’m entering not with a list of resolutions, but with a posture:

Open hands.

Open heart.

Open future.

Because transition is not only about what we leave behind—it’s about the space created for what’s ahead.

My stepdad’s memory lives with me. My mom is safe, surrounded, and supported. And I am learning—slowly, tenderly—to embrace the unknown with hope.

To anyone entering this year with a heart full of transition—loss, change, relocation, retirement, new roles, new realities—know this:

You are not alone.

Transition is not the end of your story.

It is the threshold of a new chapter.

May this year meet you gently.

May healing come softly.

May love lead you forward.

Here’s to a New Year—not only of beginnings, but of becoming.

— Dr. Don Davis