Here we are - the beginning of 2026 - and it already feels like the year skipped the warm-up lap. I barely managed to wake up this morning and did the usual half-awake phone check (bad habit, I know). The first thing staring back at me were photos of Vondelkerk - burning. A church that’s been standing in Amsterdam since the 1800s, up in flames because of a rogue firework. That’s it. That’s all it took.

And then it somehow got worse. News came out of Switzerland - a blast in a bar at a ski resort. One of those places meant for steam in the air, wet gloves on hooks, loud music, laughter, and excessive drinking after a long day on the slopes. Instead: dozens killed, hundreds injured, lives flipped upside down before the year had even properly begun.

So yeah. Day one.

No resolutions broken yet. No gym guilt, no forgotten promises, no half-hearted vows written on the back of a napkin and abandoned by February. Just a blunt reminder that the world doesn’t wait for January optimism - it keeps moving on its own schedule, whether you’re ready or not, here it comes.

No big wishes from me. No slogans. Let’s keep it practical. To the other dads out there: stay healthy, stay sharp, stay focused. Drink some water. Stretch something that hasn’t been stretched since 2019. Get enough sleep when you can. Pay attention. Take care of yourself, because someone else is counting on you - even if they don’t say it out loud. Hold your people close. If the year insists on starting rough, let it be. We’ve got time, patience, and a decent track record of turning chaos into something resembling order.

Y.