• I'm already getting sad that all of my kids will be out of high school in half a decade.
• I'm also excited about all the things I'll have time to do when I'm an empty nester.
• I'm taking steps now — like building better friendships — to ensure I'm not lost when they leave.

I realized earlier this year that if everything goes according to plan, all four of my kids will be out of high school in just five years.

Even if they don't move out of the house, then I'll have a lot more free time. Right now, I'm still driving some of them around. They have school, practices, classes, and clubs. Our evenings and weekends often revolve around their plans and performances. I love being part of this whirlwind of activity.

But as I think about the fact that I'm close to an empty nest, I oscillate between being excited that I'll have time to pursue other interests and being sad that I won't be spending all that time with my favorite people in the world.

I'm trying to set myself up now so that when this stage is over, I won't be a lonely, empty nester and feel left behind.

I'm working on other relationships

When it first hit me that I could have an empty nest in five years, I realized I'd need some friends. It's going to be strange to go from a rowdy house that once held four noisy children to a quiet home with two middle-aged adults.

I made a conscious decision to strengthen my relationships with my friends about a year ago. I listed a handful of people whom I wanted to know better, and I'm trying to build those relationships. I meet up with them for dinner, drinks, or coffee. I text people when I'm thinking of them. I check up with friends after they return from a trip or something big happens.

These things don't come naturally to me. I'd rather be in my PJs by 5:30 p.m. and curled up on the couch than go to dinner. But I never regret spending time with my friends. We have good, sometimes ridiculous, and sometimes important conversations. We've been friends since our kids were little, but now we have more time to invest in each other. It's also been helpful to have other women in my life who are experiencing the same feelings I am.

I'm also making a deliberate effort to connect with my husband. As the kids have gotten older, we've taken some trips without them. We have date nights or try to do other activities together. Our kids have consumed a lot of our time these past two decades, and I want to make sure we still know each other when those kids move out.

I'm already planning the activities I want to try when the kids leave

I've wanted to volunteer at several places in my community over the years, but our family schedules haven't allowed it. So, I'm looking forward to checking out those opportunities when my schedule opens up.

My husband and I also want to do a lot more traveling, which will be easier when we don't have to consider school schedules. We already have a list of places across the globe that we dream of going. We're already doing research and planning travel budgets, and it's getting me excited about seeing the world.

I'm prioritizing exercise and my body

It's a cruel irony that just when I get some extra time for hiking, travel, and other active things that I love, my body is beginning to slowly fall apart.

It's nothing big — yet. But I have a funny twinge in my knee sometimes. I sneezed, and my back hurt for two days. Lots of small parts that I never thought about before hurt randomly now.

I'm exercising and trying to maintain the mobility I'm lucky enough to have. I'm doing cardio, and I've added weights to strengthen my bones and fight off osteoporosis. I want to climb mountains and walk city streets in far-flung places, so I need to keep my body working as well as I can.

It's time to look inward

I'm also noticing that as my kids get older, I have more time to reflect on myself. It's hard to wrestle with who you want to be at your core when you're in the midst of diapers, spills, and messy faces. Now, I have time to think again.

I'm spending time meditating and focusing more on my spiritual life. I'm thinking about who I want to be as a person in the second half of my time on this planet.

I'm also thinking about career moves now that I can spend more time on my work. Do I need any coaching to advance? Is there somewhere I really want to work? Do I need more education or to make other changes?

I'm also staying open to the idea of therapy or counseling. This stage of life, when we say goodbye to our fledgling children, comes at the same time as a lot of other stressors. Lots of us worry about the next big thing on the horizon — like retirement.

I'm already feeling many emotions about this next chapter in our family. My husband came downstairs the other day to find me having a good cry because our son is graduating … in a year and a half.

I know planning for our empty nest doesn't mean I won't feel sad, nostalgic, or even lonely despite my best efforts. But I think this next phase will also be exciting and fulfilling as all of us in this family continue to grow.

President-elect Trump's inauguration is drawing donations from an array of blue chip companies, and is likely to exceed all past ceremonies in terms of fundraising.

Why it matters: This is a chance to earn goodwill from Trump, including for companies that distanced themselves from him in the past.

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Driving the news: Toyota announced a $1 million donation on Tuesday, matching the amounts pledged by Ford and General Motors. Both U.S. carmakers also will provide vehicles for the ceremony.

• Silicon Valley is also pitching in: Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI each promised $1 million, while Uber is donating $2 million. Some of those donations are coming from their CEOs rather than from the companies themselves.
• Wall Street donors include Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.
• Crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase are getting in on the action too.
• Also cutting seven-figure checks, per the WSJ: AT&T, Charter Communications, Stanley Black & Decker, Intuit, Charter Communications, Pratt Industries and The PhRMA trade group.

Flashback: Several of the companies suspended political donations after Jan. 6 or released statements saying they would reconsider their approaches, WSJ reports.

• Four years later, some companies that denounced the insurrection are giving more to Trump's inauguration than they ever have for previous ceremonies.
• "People just really want to move forward and move on. The election results were very clear," a rep for one of the companies told WSJ, which adds that some statements condemning Jan. 6 have disappeared from company webpages.

What to watch: Trump's inauguration also is on pace to raise considerably more money than President Biden's in 2021.

• That's a possible sign that companies see Trump as a more transactional figure, and hope donating to his inauguration will improve their standing heading into the new term.

Go deeper: Dems' plan inauguration boycott

Russian companies are using bitcoin to evade Western sanctions, thanks to a new law, the country's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed in a television interview.

Why it matters: Russia's economy has been hampered by difficulties in making and receiving international payments, even with countries like China that don't use the U.S. dollar as their reserve currencies.

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Catch up quick: The Kremlin last month created an experimental legal framework for cryptocurrency miners, which includes a provision whereby approved entities can use crypto for international trade.

• It also could be a boon for Russian energy companies, which now can sell to a power-hungry group of domestic bitcoin miners.

Reality check: Just because Russian companies are allowed by their government to make payments in bitcoin, that doesn't necessarily mean all other countries will accept it — both due to their own laws and pressure on domestic banks from Western financial regulators.

The bottom line: This development could create a challenge for President-elect Trump, who is both a crypto convert and advocate for U.S. dollar dominance.

Doctor Who's 2024 Christmas special is a lot of fun, but it tries a bit too hard to make you cry.

Claire Morgan, 30, couldn't believe it when she watched the footage, and she made sure to get more rest after seeing what happened.

The dog didn't care that there was another open couch available to use behind her.

• A report concludes that human error caused the deadly collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January.
• The pilot of the Japan Coast Guard plane misinterpreted air traffic control instructions.
• Limited visibility and air traffic control oversight were additional factors in the collision.

A report released Wednesday from the Japan Transport Safety Board concluded that human error was the primary cause of a deadly collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

The incident occurred on January 2, 2024, when a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane arriving from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo barreled into a Japan Coast Guard plane waiting on the runway.

According to the report, the Coast Guard pilot mistakenly believed he had clearance to enter the runway. The air traffic controller told the coast guard plane that it was "No. 1," meaning it was first in line to take off and meant to stop and wait at a holding point. The pilot misinterpreted the instruction, believing it to be permission to enter the runway for takeoff.

In the final moments before the collision, the Coast Guard pilot ordered his co-pilot to go through a checklist that is typically performed once final takeoff clearance has been granted. The pilot, who survived, told investigators he thought he heard "cleared for takeoff" from the control tower.

The report noted that the pilot said he was in a hurry, which could have contributed to the misinterpretation. The Coast Guard plane was traveling to the city of Niigata to deliver emergency supplies after recent earthquakes on Japan's west coast, and the pilot said he was worried about his crew getting home late from the mission.

The report said that there were other contributing factors to the collision: Air traffic control failed to realize that the Coast Guard plane had entered the runway, despite the runway occupancy alert, and the JAL plane didn't see the other aircraft as it was descending due to limited visibility. The accident occurred around 5:47 p.m., after sunset.

Five of the six people aboard the Coast Guard aircraft died. The pilot survived but was seriously injured.

All 379 passengers and crew on the passenger plane escaped just before the jet erupted into flames.

• My mom made the holidays special.
• The first Christmas without her in 2018 I basically turned into The Grinch.
• I re-found joy in the holidays while also grieving my loss.

My mother had a penchant for making things special.

She knew how to grab joy where she could. She decorated our home for every holiday, donning earrings and sweaters that matched the occasion.

On Christmas, she'd watch with joy while we opened her thoughtful gifts and ate our favorite holiday dishes. I don't remember a lot about the first Christmas without her in 2018. But for the next few years, like The Grinch, I wanted Christmas gone. If I'd had energy that wasn't solely dedicated to staying upright amidst my grief, I might have even taken down a Christmas tree or two in the night.

Nothing could compare to what my mom did

At 20-years-old, I didn't know how to make things special myself. I wasn't really interested in trying, either, or welcoming anyone else's efforts.

Nothing could compare to the holiday scene she'd set. No one else could make the food, decorate the house, or wrap the presents right.

I couldn't accept this truth: that everything would change. So I put a wall up between Christmas and I, white-knuckling my way through December. I didn't want to watch holiday movies or listen to holiday music. I wanted to dismiss it as any other insignificant day.

I'd get together with my family and try to pretend I was happy to be there, but I felt guilty for pretending and resentful of having to. Yet I didn't think not pretending was an option.

The thing about grief, though, is that with each year, the tide rose, washed away more grit, and left me softer.

I had to find beauty in things again

From the spring of 2019 through the spring of 2020, I spent a year living in Denver. I needed to change my surroundings — and make a change that was in my control — to teach my brain that there could be beauty in newness. I needed to learn what the newness would make of me.

When I returned to Michigan at the start of the pandemic, I returned as someone who had made new memories in a new place. It helped me accept that things could look different and still be good. The holidays could still be special if I wanted them to be.

During the Christmas of 2020, my sister and her family had COVID-19, so I stood outside their window in the snow for 15 minutes before going back to my apartment alone. I noticed, with sad poignancy, how much I wanted to be inside with her, my brother-in-law, my nephews, and my dad.

In 2021, I met my now wife, and I had the delicious instinct to make things special together. To create our own traditions. She prioritizes fun, and it rubbed off on me. I came to love taking part in her family's traditions, too. It became clear that there was so much celebration to go around, no matter what it looked like.

I look forward to the holidays now

This year will be the seventh Christmas without my mother, and I look forward to the holiday now.

My wife and I put up our tree on November 3rd. To me, Christmas symbolizes coziness, a focus on joy, an excuse for good food and extra sugar and sitting around a table with people I love.

While there are traditions, new and old, that I cherish, it's less about the specifics and more about the feeling. And, grief is a part of that feeling. It's just not such a sharp ache anymore — more like a familiar smell that reminds me of a warm and nostalgic childhood memory.

Holiday grief (and any grief, for that matter) isn't a thing to be conquered and moved on from, but a thing to accept and learn how to live alongside. In those early years, much of my strife came from wishing I could prevent change and control my feelings. When I don't set rigid expectations of myself, and instead let the tide wash over and soften me, that softness allows space for grief and joy.

I've learned how to appreciate specialness any way it comes and grab joy where I can — even if it means putting the Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving.

Jaden was napping with Stormi when her baby started kicking, so she decided to film to see if her puppy reacted.

Madison Square Garden will host an early basketball treat this Wednesday as the New York Knicks (19-10) take on the San Antonio Spurs (15-14).

Faithful America has started a petition asking Christian leaders to denounce Trump's immigration policies.

The Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) in a Week 17 matchup that could define the playoff landscape.

A man was arrested on December 24 in Houston after threatening to release sarin gas at Lakewood Church.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a final decision on whether or not All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones will be playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is reportedly set to apply for vacant head coaching positions in 2024.

These celebrities have a lot to celebrate in December.

• US home sales just ended a 39-month year-over-year decline, signaling the end of the bear market, NDR said.
• Affordability issues, driven by high mortgage rates, drove the 3-year decline in home sales activity.
• Investors could take advantage of the setup by buying the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF, NDR said.

The bear market in US home sales is finally over, according to a recent note from Ned Davis Research.

The firm highlighted that total single-family home sales finally turned positive year-over-year after 39 months of consecutive declines.

The 39-month decline in home sales was only outdone by the 43-month decline during the housing bubble from 2005 through 2009.

"But the recent affordability-driven pandemic bear could not be more different than the credit-driven housing bubble bear," Pat Tschosik, a strategist at Ned Davis Research, said.

The main difference between the two notable declines in home sales is affordability.

Whereas the affordability index rose 53 points from 2005 through 2009, it plunged 39 points from 2021 through 2024, driven by high mortgage rates and ever-rising home prices.

"Homeowners, locked into low rates and unwilling to move, added to low supply and higher prices," Tschosik said.

Additionally, the stocks of homebuilders outperformed over the past three years, compared to them underperforming during the 2005 through 2009 stretch.

The recent rebound in home sales activity suggests to Tschosik that the housing market should thaw in 2025, enabling a rebound in durable and home improvement spending.

For investors, that means the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF could be a worthy addition to portfolios for next year. The ticker symbol is "ITB."

"We are watching ITB for an upgrade. If inflation fears are overblown, the recent ITB correction could be a great buying opportunity," Tschosik said.

The ETF has declined by more than 15% since fears of a rebound in inflation gripped the market in late November.

The top holdings within the Home Construction ETF include home builders D.R. Horton, Lennar Corp, NVR, and Pulte Group, as well as home-improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe's.

In a video posted on Monday, Mary Trump discusses several interesting gifts and a competition with her brother for "worst" gift.

The pope also voiced concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in his Christmas address, labeling the situation "extremely grave."

At least one House Republican has said he will vote against Johnson. The speaker can lose only two GOP votes and still survive.