11 Readers Share Their Favorite Photos of the Year
We adore this Cup of Jo community, so we asked readers to send their favorite personal photos from 2025. We received so many incredible snapshots — it was impossible to choose! — but here are 11, including a surprise wedding and winning Wordle guess…
Above: “Turning 100 days is a huge milestone for Korean babies. I was thrilled to celebrate our beloved babe — and also elated for myself that I’d passed the ‘fourth trimester’ mark. Motherhood is simultaneously the most difficult and wonderful journey, and I’m grateful to have a community that celebrates our baby’s milestones as much as her umma and appa.” — Joanne
“This photo taken on a weekend getaway is pretty much how my sister and I always look: cackling our way through life. Two years ago, I ended a 20-year marriage, and earlier this year my sister lost her boyfriend to cancer. Things aren’t always easy, but we’re so lucky to have each other.” — Keely
“This photo is from my first time skating on ‘wild’ ice on Kenai Lake, Alaska. I had planned to just go to Alaska for a February vacation, but I ended up falling in love with the rugged wilderness and moved here in June!” — Emily
“This was our first trip to the beach last summer, six months after I had our second child. We live in Sweden, and after spending all winter nursing indoors, I felt like I was alive again! My daughter was so excited to swim, and the baby had never felt sand. Months later, seeing that hand on my leg still makes me cry.” — Morgan
“When I was newly postpartum, my sister flew from England to help out. It was during Ramadan, and we were trying on outfits for Eid. At that moment, I had to nurse my baby, so my sister sat down to complete reading her Quran, and my daughter sat next to her. It wasn’t a posed pic, but I saw them and I was like STOP! DON’T MOVE! This photo captures the incredible bond between an aunt and niece. In our tradition, we say ‘the mother’s sister has the same station as the mother,’ and I think that’s so beautiful.” — Sumaya
“My favorite photo is bittersweet. In the summer, we learned my beloved grandfather ‘Hoppi,’ who was in hospice care, likely wouldn’t make it to our fall wedding. My grandmother and I organized a surprise ‘wedding’ at their Florida home, with family flying in from all over the country and my sister acting as officiant (ordained by the Universal Life Church, of course). It was a true mitzvah for someone I’ve loved for 31 years. He passed peacefully a few weeks before our actual wedding, and I’ll cherish this memory forever.” — Morgan
“My husband took this photo of me this spring — in the months prior, I had undergone a bilateral mastectomy and radiation to treat breast cancer. During radiation, I started knitting this sweater in the brightest yarns I had — all dyed by my friend! I was so excited to wear it for the first time, to go to lunch with my husband, and to have a day of feeling like myself again.” — Allison
“A few years ago, I went to nursing school after being a stay-at-home mom of two boys. Nursing school was incredibly hard, but I met the most wonderful people. We graduated in May and now we all work in the same hospital. To celebrate, we went for a 10-mile hike in the Adirondacks. The hike was difficult but worth it — the perfect metaphor for our nursing school experience.” — Lyndsey
“This photo — taken on January 1st at my community garden plot with my 4-week-old daughter — captures my very first solo outing with her, the start of a fresh new year, and the beginning of what felt like a reclaiming of my sense of self. This trip to the garden fed my soul and reminded me of how far we’d come in those wild first few weeks. I felt so proud, hopeful, and peaceful — just me and my girl.” — Erica
“This picture was taken on Halloween at a dress-up place in Salem, Massachusetts. It’s me (top left) and my older sister (top middle) with my two girls and her two girls. My sister’s family lives across the country, so cousin time is a huge treat. The girls created core memories, like having a Hocus Pocus movie night and riding the train to Salem during spooky season. We are now official a coven, and the cousins are already scheming their next visit.” — Liberty
“I always play Wordle starting with whatever random word pops into my head at the time (I used to play the same opening word each time but decided that was boring). After I guessed correctly, I actually shrieked and fist pumped the air, and even though I was alone in my room, looked around wildly for someone to high five. Even though I know this was absolute dumb luck, it is totally an accomplishment, where’s my trophy y’all?” — Katie
What’s your favorite snapshot from the year? We’d love to hear…
P.S. Twelve readers share their favorite photos and more great reader comments, including their happy moments and favorite winter outfits.
Tags: reader comments, reader outfits
Comments
99 commentsMorgan with the baby hand! What a lush, gorgeous candid photograph. I hope you have it framed <3
Such beautiful photos,all of them. “The mother’s sister holds the same station as the mother” made me cry. I never had my own children and cherish the relationships I have with my niece and nephews. I know they feel, as I do that I’m a second mom but it’s so amazing to see this acknowledged. Thank you.
Allison, you inspired me to start knitting a pullover also! Yesterday I bought the yarn and started immediately .Thank you for this inspiration, you rock!
My partner’s grandma, belovedly called Amma, uses the same wordle start every day: ARISE. It is very well known amongst her friends and family! Her wordle enthusiasm has renewed all of our interest in the game and we often chat about it. A few weeks ago ARISE was the wordle of the day and I will forever smile at the thought of how many people must have gotten to the end and immediateley reached out to her. She was elated!
What beautiful moments! My mom always used the same starting Wordle word. Shortly after she died last year, I thought, why not try her pick for a change? Well, it was the word of the day! I wish I could have texted her — she would have been very excited. But it felt like a small reminder that she’s all around, finding ways to be still be a part of my life.
What beautiful moments! My mom always used the same starting Wordle word. Shortly after she died last year, I thought, why not try her pick for a change? Well, it was the word of the day! I wish I could have texted her — she would have been very excited. But it felt like a small reminder that she’s still all around.
My family was crazy about wordle, and although I had heard of it, I had never played. After some badgering, I caved and pulled it up on my browser. Got it on the first try and my family was like whhhhhat?! Being new to the game, I didn’t realize the significance of this miracle!!
Loved this post so much!! Love the diversity of the readers! Just makes me love CoJ even more!!
I just have one word for this post and all the comments: FABULOUS!
Emily–Welcome to Alaska!
Tears!!! Love that photo and tradition of aunties… Grateful to have amazing aunties, and to be learning how to be one, too!
This is one of my top five favorite COJ posts does every year. Each image has such emotion and many such joy. I also love seeing the diversity of COJ readership. Gratitude to everyone who shared; these photos are an inspiration to make deep memories for the year ahead.
Smiling with such a sense of pride and joy for a post full of warm strangers – surely there must be a word in some language for that feeling?!
The word you’re looking for is the German word freudenfreude! As quoted in this NYT link, researchers define it as ‘finding pleasure in another person’s good fortune.’ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/25/well/mind/schadenfreude-freudenfreude.html
The wordle one made ME shriek! I am so proud of her!
SOB. love these beautiful photos and stories. i have a 2.5 year old and 7 month old daughter, and as the youngest of four and only girl, the thought of raising sisters still somewhat terrifies me. stories like these (keely and her sister navigating grief as adults, sumaya’s sister helping in postpartum and her bond with her daughter, liberty with her sister and all their daughters) buoy me and make me so excited for what’s to come for these sweet sisters.
Not to sound dramatic, but sisters are EVERYTHING. Congrats!
My favorite is the emotional feelings caught in each photo. The people in them and heart of the photographer eye is amazing 👏!! Tell the story of life
Brought the happiest tears to my eyes. All so good!
This made me happily cry – thank you! I love each and every person, picture, and story. On New Year’s Eve, my sister always sends 15-20 photos of our favorite moments and memories of the year. She also does this on my birthday, sending a handful of photos from my last age-year and happy memories. It’s the most thoughtful and special thing, and often includes random snapshots I’ve never seen before — a table setting for a dinner we had together, a silly selfie on a hike, or a moment captured of me laughing with her daughter. I’ve now started a tradition of doing it with my close friends, and people are always so surprised and touched and happy to remember the little glimmers from a whole year.
This post brought me to tears with its beauty and truth. Each photo and caption speaks to my own life in some way and the absolute magic that pervades a life even in the darkest times. Thank you to this community for sharing. I looked through my own photos of the year to see if I could find something that highlighted a moment I want to remember. I think it’s the photo of me and my 15 yr old at the airport when he returned home after 14 months in a residential treatment school. I was so happy to be bringing my baby home and grateful that he let me take a photo of us.
i love this, vanessa. one of my brothers went through residential treatment as a teenager, and it is heartbreaking and worth it. congrats on making it to the other side.
Such a beautiful post–thank you so much for creating it and for all the contributors for allowing us to join in in joyous celebration! How wonderful!
What beautiful people. It reminded me of a favorite word, PRONOIA. The idea that the universe in conspiring in your favor, the cards are stacked FOR you, the world is beautiful and good and good is coming your way. There’s so much hope for a brighter future in these photos and words.
Tears came to my eyes while reading this. Thank you.
Same – little baby tears swimming in my eyes! This was incredibly touching and lovely.
Katie, I know the thrill of the first guess Wordle win! It’s amazing! Nothing can take away that STUMP high; ride it for as long as you like! Once, I commented in my friend thread about how badly I did at that day’s Wordle, and my friend Barb wrote, “You’ll always have ATONE.” P.S. I agree about the award. :)
Alas, my first word Wordle was “TRUMP!”
What a beautiful post!!! Thank for all the beautiful pictures and stories behind them. The one about the mother’s sister being in the same station as mother, wow!
These are lovely 💕 Thank you so much for sharing! I have a few silly selfies with my 5-year-old nephew that we took this summer and they make me happy. I only see him every couple of years, as he lives in Kenya, and it’s wonderful to have these photos & memories ❤️.
I am in love with every single person in these pictures! Everyone is so beautiful! May 2026 be joyous and peaceful for all.
Oh Emily! Alaska has a pull on me like nowhere else since going a few times for work. Will need to plan a vacation to see if it can lure my partner!
Yessss sending some hypnotic Alaskan vibes to you and your partner!! I’m sure they’ll love it!
I really didn’t expect to weep through this whole post but here we are.
same. (sob)
What an antidote to the relentlessness of the world we all are, thank you ❤️
I cried looking through these photos and then I cried reading some of these responses. Yes I may be deep in some weaning hormones but you guys, I just love this community so much!
Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures and the stories that go with them. Allison: The sweater you knit is perfect! I too had a double mastectomy and recently have been trying to get back into knitting but have yet to find a sweater pattern that might accommodate my flat chest. I think your pattern might be it! Do you mind sharing where you found the pattern as well as any advice for whether/how you modify the chest dimensions when you knit your sweaters? Thank you so much!
These posts are the reason I love Cup of Jo so much, this brings back my faith in humanity
Ditto! <3
The only years end list I need. What a wonderful online community where you are rooting for all of these strangers who are also your friends. I am genuinely happy for everyone in these photos!
Allison!! You and that sweater look incredible — can we get the pattern link? Signed, a fellow knitter whose sweaters never turn out that good!
Agreed. What a beautiful smile, and the sweater is perfect!
Thanks so much, Kate! It’s the Stripes! sweater made with half-sized stripes. https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/stripes
Thank you thank you!
Well this is all such a joy. I love the COJ community. Thank you Joanna and team for creating and thank you to the community for being such a breath of fresh air.
The baby’s hand. What a perfect photo. My kids are a little bit older now and that made me breath catch.
As another Katie who once got wordle in one guess using ‘POLAR’, I see you and I high-five you!!
Where did you go to nursing school Lyndsey?! I graduated from HVCC and found out I passed my NCLEX on a hike in the Adirondacks (perfect way to celebrate). I went on to work at Albany med and then transitioned to public health. I will never forget my nursing school peers and my first coworkers. Trauma bonded for sure!
LOVE! Just happy crying over all of these at my desk, thank you.
Teary-eyed here! Thank you dear readers for sharing these wonderful photos and heart-warming, celebrating moments. These are great posts, CoJ. xo
These photos are like treats from an advent calendar, I want to contemplate them little by little, one day at a time, because there is so much beauty and meaning in each … Thank you so much! Love from Paris
Love ALL of these! After just finishing “The Great Alone”, Emily’s was especially hypnotic.
Aww thank you, Robin! The Great Alone was my first introduction to Alaska. If you want to continue with another Alaskan novel, I highly recommend Black Woods Blue Sky.
I’m not going to lie, I feel pretty darn proud of myself when I get wordle in three 😂 So just imagine how proud I feel of Katie and all the other folks here who have gotten it in one!!! Know I’m there air high fiving all of you because it is absolutely worth celebrating!! Now, if someone could just help me get better with playing connections, I’d really appreciate it :)
Connections: Shuffle three times. Read each word in the puzzle aloud. Always look at word “parts” for the categories like THE FIRST THREE LETTERS OF FAMOUS BIRDS PLUS Z. Shuffle again. Look up word meanings you don’t know. And…solve!
What an uplifting post! Not having a sister (but wonderful sisters in law) I LOVE that pic of Keely and her sister. But it makes me wonder what they were laughing at and who took that photo? My Wordle strategy is to often use a good 5 letter word from the mini crossword as a starting point. I’ve gotten it in 2 a few times – but haven’t yet been able to nail in my 1st guess. I’m a bit OCD about the order in which I do the NYT games.
My husband and I always use a 5-letter word that appears in Connections as our Wordle start word!
I’m OCD too about the order – I always did Wordle, Spelling Bee, Strands, then Connections. At least until the introduction of Pips. That’s thrown me off! Now I’ll do Pips first, or last, and sometimes I skip Strands (my least-loved game).
Love, love, love this! Would love to see more!
SUCH a beautiful post. And so varied and endearing. I feel like I want to meet all of these amazing people! Thank you Jo and all participants!
Sisters! I love that photo so much!! My sis lives 3,000 miles away but every year, our times together, are some of the best moments of that year.
These are beautiful, every single one.
Inspired by these Wordle miracles (wordacles?), I logged on to try today’s puzzle. I played my typical starting word (“least”), and then got the correct word on the next try!! I won’t spoil it for today’s players. Something told me to play RIGHT THIS MINUTE even though I don’t usually play during the work day.
NICE!!!!!!!
Hannah, I never tried wordle but since you introduced wordacles, oh my, what else is possible? spontaneous miracles = spontancles. cute miracles = cutacles, Christmas miracles = chrasticles…my train ride does not stop for another 20mins. I fear I cannot stop thinking about all beautiful acles in the world :) Thank you!
Testicles (I’M SORRY, CHARLOTTE)
You got a Twordle! If the whole puzzle is all green by the time you find the answer it is a Verdle (Trademarked…in my own little world). Three guesses is a Threrdle. Etc etc
Oh Sunny, I’m having a giggle because you are having one :) I don’t know if you heard about the podcast Three Bean Salad (3 UK comedians being silly, funny and filling their podcast with a weird lightness), but I think, you might like it :)
Love this post – would love to see this monthly! The very first time I played Wordle, when it was new and everyone was into it, I got it right with my first guess. I never played again because why ruin my perfect streak.
Hahaha, respect.
Loved this post!!!
Katie, my friend and I have a name for your Wordle experience. In our world, that’s an “orange peel moment” for the time she was alone at our apartment and peeled an orange in one single piece. She was so excited and no one was around, so she saved the peel to show me when I got home. Every time I have that kind of squeal-for-joy moment when I’m alone, I think of that orange peel. Yours can be a “stump moment”!
I love hearing from all the random start word Wordlers! Me too – are we all Sagittarius? We took our boys to their first summer carnival and photos of their joy while riding those rickety rides make me smile. But I also have a boatload of candid pics of them mesmerized while reading and it swells my heart. I so want them to continue finding joy in books.
Haha i’m a libra and random wordler! well, random but still based on stuff going on in my life… like “my kid’s birthday was today, let’s do “Party” or “cakes”.” the problem is, I usually do it at night before bed, so the main word running through my mind is “Tired” and I have to force myself to pick something else.
Random first word Sag here. I am always ticked to see my first word was chosen by less than 0.1% of players.
So much goodness and joy in these photos. The last one has convinced me to get back into Wordle.
I love everything about every one of these. So beautiful!
I love the Adirondacks hike photo and story. Lyndsey, will you please share which hike you did?
That wordle screenshot speaks to my soul. The secondhand pride is REAL
If I had one photo it would be the face of my beloved cousin. We live in different states but have walked together through so much, my dad’s death, her dad’s dementia diagnosis, the birth of our sons weeks apart in a pandemic. Her dad died this year, and in a logistical miracle I was able to make a fleeting trip to hug her, listen to her, make cups of tea, and drink wine watching the rain. Now we are back to our usual hodge podge of texts and phone calls and missed calls like ships in the night. But despite the sad circumstances, I feel so privileged I was able to be there for her in person for that one day.
Just a stranger on the internet who knows nothing about your life, Nicola–but that was no logistical miracle. *You* prioritized that trip to comfort your cousin; you did whatever you had to do to be there for her at a vulnerable time. You are the miracle-maker.
Oh thank you Anon, that is such a kind thing to say. You’ve made my day.
What a lovely post. I’d love to see more of these moments/photos from readers!
STUMP!
Can we please have a profile of Emily! I want to hear that story! ❤️
Agree – give us the tv mini-series!
Sob!! You guys are too kind!
Oh the humanity!
I got wordle on one go once (GHOST) and plan to cram my screen grab. I was so proud! It was funny too because my daughter and husband play each night and they call it “one and done” only putting in one word and not bothering with the rest. I’ve always teased them and told them how outrageous this is then I go and get one and dine! Ha! It was a momentous occasion and I bring it up regularly.
These are all so delightful! Emily’s story reminded me of my trip to Alaska. No, I didn’t stay, but so many people I encountered had! I left feeling like there are 2 types of visitors to Alaska, those who love it and go home to tell everyone about this magnificent state, and those who LOVE it and never leave.
Yaaaaaassssss KATIE!!!! Congrats! I am high fiving you from PDX! Besides sharing your name, I play Wordle the exact same way — going on 5 years of random starter words based solely on “vibes” I, too, guessed correctly this year!!! GRAFT, baby!!! Was also alone in my classroom on my prep & literally ran next door to high five my teammate (who, natch, doesn’t play Wordle at all:/) LOVE YOUR PHOTO & CONGRATS AGAIN!
❤️Beautiful in every way and a chuckle tribute to the Wordle world. (I’ve only landed on a second correct guess 4 x’s) but I’m addicted to NYT games. My personal favorite photo this year was of the first recovery leaves on an African milk plant I nursed back to health. Right now it’s flourishing in my warm bay window proud as a peacock.
This was such a treat! About the Wordle….For a long time, I used the same word – WEIRD – for my first word. One morning, I accidentally typed in WIRED. I don’t know why, but I went with it. THE WORD OF THE DAY WAS WEIRD 😩 I got it on the 2nd line, but still. I can’t believe I’m about to admit this to you fine people, but now my first word is always FARTS and it makes me smile every time 🤭
Diana, no!! In our hearts, you won it that day. xoxo
omg, my first word is WEIRD, and I did get it that day! I still use it though, just for luck I guess?
Would love to see another round of these! They’re all so good!
The one time I guess Wordle on the first go, the word was “LIGHT.” I still think about it (it happened over 2 years ago!). Xo
These are all so beautiful! What a wonderful prompt, what gloriously beautiful you are!!!