2018 – The year that was..

The only thing constant is change, and the fact that time is going to begin and end.

This is going to be one of those posts that I write for myself, to reflect back on, and read and smile, when I am old and unable to write or read, but hopefully some handsome or pretty nurse will be kind enough to read my blog posts out to me..ahem. So I’d like to warn you, this is going to be a long post, where you will learn nothing, other than a peek into my life. If you have the time read on, then let me know how you think I did, and if you don’t, thats alright too 😀

I wanted to just take this quite afternoon to reflect back on the year that was..2018, how it went for me, what goals was I able to achieve, and which ones didn’t work out. What I learnt, and how things were personally, officially, financially, etc etc for me, and hope to learn something or just cherish the fact that in the end, I had another brilliant year and am just lucky to be alive and around people who love me 🙂

Work

I had to relocate to a different city in UK, with my family in tow, to start a new project when the previous one finished. The movement came with a lot of challenges, cost of living was now 30% higher, but my salary was still the same. We had to move in quickly to a smaller flat, and go through the usual teething troubles of falling into a routine, getting my daughter settled into a new daycare, try and make new friends and try to make a good impression at work.

However, I think work wise, or at least facility wise, these last 10 months this year have been really good for me. I got a chance to work with some amazing people and made a new friend at work, who was a breath of sunshine to talk to. I also made three new girl friends, one a mom, who turned out to be my neighbor too, and we had daughters of the same age going to the same daycare and we worked in the same building!! Work was just 10 mins walk away, and my daughter’s daycare was literally a stone’s throw away.

The path to office- made it all 5 days!

I was able to make a good impression at work too, and spending 8 hours didn’t seem boring or daunting, ever. I think these 10 months were the best in a long time. But now I’m back in India, in a work set up that I’m not enjoying. So let’s see what the new year brings.

Family

Oh gosh, this has been the biggest source of joy and stress to me this year. So, for me, family is a small group of people. It consists of my dad, my mom, my younger sister, my husband/partner and my two year old daughter. I have an extended family and my partner’s family too, but its hard to explain, I don’t have the same bond with any of them, the way I feel about these people in terms of family. I want to write the highs and lows in bullet points – my favorite I guess, so they seem less stressful or don’t become an essay in itself! haha

• Dad’s condition with alcoholism has been worsening. I think his condition and my listening to everything my mother and sister have to deal with, have been the biggest low this year in my life. Not being able to help him, or my mother, has been has been a constant source of heart break this year
• The next source of stress this year has been my daughter’s constant battles with illnesses, especially the ones related to asthma. The poor kid has had to go through so many illnesses, and medicines, it just made my heart ache. I’m trying to look at the brighter side like everyone tells me, that this will build her immunity, and she is just going to come out stronger
• But also, my little two year old, has been an utter source of joy and love. I love her, I get frustrated with her, she makes me laugh and she makes me want to tear my hair out. But I don’t think I can live without her in my life, now.
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
• My sister. Another person who has the kindest heart I have known. My lifeline and support system. Someone I can’t do without. She is 4 years younger to me, but seems wiser beyond her age. Everytime I need to vent, or talk, or be silly, or want to be pampered, I turn to her, and she is ALWAYS there. I just love her so much and I wish her everything she desires and all the happiness forever!
  

  
• And finally, my husband, who has now been upgraded to the status of a partner. After 12 years of knowing each other, and 9 years of being married, we’ve become like siblings. I will be lying if I said that I’m happily married, and there are no problems in my marriage and I love and lust after my partner just like in the movies. Nope, like I said, we’re like siblings now. Life has happened, and things have changed. We tried to fix it, but now have reached a passe, where we both are comfortably happy and support each other where required. Not to forget, being there because our daughter needs us. On some rare good days, we have a few good conversations, but mostly, we are the quiet couple..hehe

  

Personal

I think with each year now, my focus on the personal front is steadily increasing. And I am so glad to say, that this year, I found one of my passions, or rather, rediscovered it, and absolutely excelled at it!

• Reading goals – Oh man, what a year! I had set a goal of reading 24 books this year, as part of my Goodreads challenge and I read 61 books this year!!! Woo hoo!! Applause! Applause!! I think books saved my life this year. When I didn’t have friends or time for a social gathering, or was having a bad day personally, books came to my rescue. I also started book blogging this year and made so many amazing new friends from the online community, with whom I was able to share more than I shared with anyone else in my life. I really hope I am able to continue, build and nurture this passion of mine in the coming years too 🙂

  

• Blogging – I just wanted to blog more, and I included book blogging to my original blog of travel and personal stories. Have been having a lot of fun on this platform and have met some amazing people and bloggers this year via this platform too

  

• Travel – I wasn’t able to travel as much as I wanted to, with all the moving and toddler illnesses, but we still did a pretty good job I think. Visited a local ranch in UK, went to Scotland when my sister came over, went to London to watch Phantom of the Opera, Lake District in UK, moved back to India, went to Gopalpur beach in Odisha, India, the London aquarium, went to the Harry Potter studio in Watford (yayyy), to name a few. Hopefully, 2019 will be a better year in terms of travel, fingers crossed 🙂
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
• Diet – Um, yeah, major fail. I tried to control my sugar, tried eating only salads, tried the 5:2 diet, some random fasting- but nope, I am addicted to food. ALL FOOD. Period.

  

• Exercise – Ahem, cough, what? Again, I felt like a starter of various exercising schemes this year, but never a finisher. In UK, I tried doing Fitbit step count challenges with my friends (never won), tried running on and off (but was not very consistent, always had some excuse), joined the extremely expensive David Lyod’s gym next door for 6 months, got broke and stopped going after two months, and now back in India, have again started to pick up my morning runs. So far, I think I have been pretty good at managing a daily half hour run or 20 minute run, and I finished my second 5K of the year yesterday! So, I hope I can improve on this too, next year
  

  
• Personal grooming and entertainment – I love my hair short, and have been sporting the chopped off look at the end of the year. Been spending all my money on books, food and alcohol and none on clothes. My wardrobe sucks, and I don’t care, except for on days when people tell me, the dress code is NOT CASUAL or PJS!! I had the pleasure of watching some great movies and shows on Netflix this year too!
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

So, to wrap it up, I think I had a pretty decent year overall and an exceptional year in terms of reading! I have some lofty goals in mind for 2019, and I’ll be posting a blog in the new Year about my goals! Let’s see how we do in 2019! hehe

How was your year?

Did you kickass on all your goals, or feebly attempted some, like me? 😉

Whatever it is, if you are reading so far, then you’ll realise that you have so much to be thankful for! To be alive, to have the time, to have a mind to read and comprehend – we are all blessed!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year’s eve and see you all in 2019!!!