If This Year Had a Theme Song

As the year comes to a close, we find ourselves less interested in what we finished or achieved and more curious about how the year actually felt. Somewhere along the way, a softer question found us: What if the year wasn’t a report card, but a soundtrack? When we sit with that, we notice this year didn’t move in a straight line. Some days were light and hopeful; others felt uncertain or unfinished. And yet, taken together, they formed a kind of music—uneven at times, but honest.

When we listen more closely, it isn’t the big moments that linger the longest. It’s the small ones. A shared laugh that came out of nowhere. Someone quietly showing up when it mattered. A morning that felt calm before the rush began. A song playing at just the right time. These small joys are like background music—we don’t always hum them out loud, but they shape the tone of our days. Children often remember them instinctively; adults tend to realise their value only later. Pausing now helps us hear them again, like a familiar tune we didn’t know we’d learned by heart.

If this year had a soundtrack, perhaps it would sound something like Here Comes the Sun—a reminder that light returns, often gently. Or Count on Me, holding the warmth of friendship and family. Maybe What a Wonderful World, inviting us to notice goodness exactly as it is, or Three Little Birds, whispering reassurance on harder days. For some, it might carry the quiet devotion of Nimo Patel’s “Spreading Love,” reminding us to move through the world with tenderness and presence.

As this year ends, we don’t feel the need to fix the song or change its rhythm. We can simply thank it—for what it taught us, for where it stretched us, and for the quiet goodness woven through it. Joy, we are learning, isn’t something we arrive at once everything is sorted. It’s something we practice by noticing what’s already here. As we step into the year ahead, may we meet moments worth humming, and may we keep listening for the gentle music playing through our everyday lives.

Title: 88 Instruments
By: Chris Barton
Ages: 3-7

A boy who loves to make noise gets to pick only one instrument (at his parents urging) in a music store, but there is too much to choose from! There’s triangles and sousaphones! There’s guitars and harpsichords! Bagpipes and cellos and trombones! How can he find the one that is just right for him out of all those options? - Publishers

If this year had a theme song, what would it be for you?

What part of the year felt like the chorus?

What small joy are you most grateful for?

What kind of song would you like next year to sound like?