Still Merry!

By Annette Bridges

In September 2022, I wrote a column titled “Merry Maui Cows,” featuring a photograph of me with a group of Maui cows grazing in a seaside pasture.

This photo was taken in that same spot a few weeks ago, in March 2026.

Standing there again, looking out over that green hillside rolling toward the ocean, I couldn’t help but smile. I’m quite certain those cows were just as merry then as they are now, and I realized I am, too.

My husband and I had returned to Maui to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary.

Forty-five years! I can hardly say it out loud without wondering where in the world the time has gone. The years flew by, and yet so much life happened in them: joys, challenges, ordinary days and unforgettable moments, the kind of life that shapes you.

This trip carried an extra layer of celebration for me. Since that first “Merry Maui Cows” photo, I’ve lost over fifty pounds. I found myself happily shopping for new tropical clothes, smiling in dressing rooms and picking up sizes I hadn’t worn in years. It was lighthearted fun, but it also meant something deeper to me. Change is still possible, even later in life.

At this stage of life, birthdays and anniversaries feel less like markers of time passing and more like invitations to look back, take stock and notice what has changed and what has stayed the same.

When I placed my new photo beside the one from 2022, I noticed the differences, of course. What stood out most was what hadn’t changed. I was still merry, and those two simple words felt like a quiet declaration.

Being “still merry” after years of life, with all its beauty and difficulty, says something. It says we’ve held onto joy and chosen gratitude. It says we’ve weathered what needed weathering and still found reasons to smile.

Life doesn’t stay the same, and it isn’t meant to. We get seasons of ease and seasons of challenge, moments that take your breath away and moments that take your strength. Through all of it, we can carry a steady thread of merriness forward.

It may be quiet, and life may be far from perfect, but I’m still merry. Maybe that’s enough. Maybe it’s everything.