Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2018: Year in Review: The year of Self Revelations

Before I start with my year in review, I read the past few years summary and it makes me smile. It reminds me of how blessed I am, how life goes up and down but what counts is the good memories and the not so good ones which make me tougher and stronger.

To continue the tradition of Year in Review: 2018: The year of self revelations

The year started with a planned surgery. This kind of set the pace ahead for me. My mum kept her life on pause and came to help me. My gosh, she just picked it up and ran with it. She managed everything in the house and Sumit managed all the other stuff. I was pampered, well cared for and above all the path to recovery was so much simpler! A few friends went over and above (as always) and saved me from "cabin fever". Getting a surprise Paint the Town Read, the night before the surgery was awesome.

Over the years, I think i have improved at figuring out my relationships, some are social, some are true, some are simple and some are complicated. The year just past makes me feel more and more at ease. Sometimes I did feel petty, but then common sense trickles in and I breather a huge sigh!

We had an intense discussion among dear friends recently and the moral of the conversation was "Go Deep not Wide" Now mind out of the gutter: The point was, friendships will always get wider, we meet new people, develop new relationships etc. However the depth in the relationship is what matters.

The other big self revelation was: "It's fun to be silly and being silly is fun"
Over a college reunion this summer, I felt like no time had passed in our friendships. We pushed each other in pools, we chatted till wee hours, we bitched, we laughed and on and on. And there was no judgement. It was just so simple.
I was recapping this to my older daughter, Miss V later. She said "Mum you and your friends are so silly and so cute". This made me smile.

As I see pictures of the year gone by, my favorite ones are the "silly ones" and not those pretty perfect ones! The new family mantra is "It's fun to be silly and being silly is fun"

A very dear friend of mine and I were talking at how "unexpected" life can be. I remind her often (by yelling at her sometimes). The unexpected makes us tougher and there is always light at the end of the tunnel. We just need to be patient. This year has reminded me Again: Life happens, resilience is helpful. And it will be OK.

Now to the travel of the year!
We soaked in the sunshine in Tampa with my parents, cousins and the kids got to enjoy the Harry Potter World. The girls got pampered by their grand parents over summer. Their 2 months of summer were split in India and Africa with cousins, loads of laughter, ice creams and lots of TV. What an experience! We traveled to New York, South Korea, Canada, India and ended the year with another "unplanned planned" trip to California.

My girls are becoming mini adults with full blown emotions, tantrums and laughter. As the year draws to a close, I feel eternally grateful to my parents, i wish I am half as self-less as they are. My
brother and sister in law, who are just a phone call away (though I barely call). They always pick up and I can just be the little girl of the house again. The friendships which have soared, deepened and above the support system here gets stronger. Of course, the partner in crime who continues to be the rock solid support.

2018 A year, filled with ups and downs and surprises, some good some just like a bad dream. A year with loud fights and even rowdier laughter. A lot of game nights and even more biking on the lake.What a year it was!
Looking forward to 2019 with dreams, successful recoveries, more laughter, more travel, more gatherings with crazy laughter and above all more simpler times!

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