Highlights & Lowlights of 2022
Well, it’s been quite a year, perhaps the most full-on year since covid struck. I told myself when things started getting back to normal that I wouldn’t say no unless I really didn’t want to do it (I draw the line at rollercoasters), and I pretty much stuck to that. I’d spent too long sat in my comfort zone, I needed to shake things up, so I spent a good while doing anything, everything – opening of an envelope? Yep, that’s me in the front row, but through doing that I learnt about what and who works for me, and I’ve become more selective. I started this adventure for me, but also because I wanted something to work around my family and although my children are in their teens now, and they need me less and less, I am far more aware that I need, and want, to grab hold of the time that I have with them. In addition to my children are getting older, in turn, so is my mum and my in-laws, which became quite apparent over Christmas when my in-laws were missing at the dinner table due to illness. Nothing serious, you’ll be pleased to know but a chest infection on an 87-year-old is not to be sniffed at. We have big family Christmas’ ever since we announced that we weren’t moving the kids away from their toys when they were little and invited everyone to ours instead, but for various reasons over the past few years we haven’t managed a full table. I hope we manage to rectify that this year.
Mickey Was Calling…
The big one for me was our holiday. It was a long time coming – aside from a couple of city stayovers and a visit to my brother in France, we hadn’t been on holiday since 2019. I was also all too aware that my son was heading off to university in September and spending some time as a family, just us, was paramount for me. We chose somewhere we’d been before so there was no room for error, we knew that we all loved it! Disney. Oh yes, we love a bit of Disney! And it’s the perfect place to spend time together because you have no choice but to spend hours in queues together! Admittedly this could make or break a family, and we had our fair share of walking back into the villa and everyone dashing to their separate spaces, but overall, we had the best time.
They Said I Do….
Two biggies this year – one of my best friends married her soul mate after an ‘interesting’ time on Tinder, turns out ‘The One’ was right under her nose, and my niece married her lovely boyfriend of 8 years. I can’t quite get my head around the little girl that used to come and stay with me in school holidays got married!! WTAF. So, along with two amazing wedding days came two very different but equally amazing hen dos. One was a trip to one of my favourite cities, Barcelona, the other was a chilled weekend in a beautiful house near Harrogate. Although different in location they were both a lesson in grabbing life with both hands. I didn’t know all the girls at either event, some more than others and some not at all but by the end of it I felt like I’d been away with my best friends!
Kids eh!
We could have had exam hell with one doing GCSE’s and one doing A level’s but I’m very pleased to report that they both took it in their stride, and it was a fairly chilled couple of months, to be honest I think the week before results was worse! But all the worry was in vain because they both smashed it. Phew!
The Nest Started to Empty…
Alongside the euphoria of my son achieving more than what he required in his A levels to get into his first-choice uni, was the realisation that he was moving away….5 hours away. This was a tough pill to swallow, and I’d like to say that I took it on the chin, and it wasn’t that bad, but I’d be lying. It was awful. I spent the first week in a pool of my own tears and then pulled myself together and told the other two that they weren’t allowed to leave…EVER! There is an upside though because he is fine, more than fine. He’s made friends, he’s managing to look after himself, he cooks, does laundry, negotiates the bus timetable and even manages to go to lectures (so he says!), and all this tells me that we’ve successfully raised an adult. We did it. I’m under no illusion that our work here is done, but so far so good.
Oh and That Other Thing…
My business. My first full year. Was it what I expected? No. But was it brilliant? Yes. I’ve learnt so much about myself in the last 12 months – who knew that I would enjoy public speaking and have a passion for writing?! This year has thrown so many opportunities my way, I’ve kept pushing myself out of my comfort zone and I can confidently say I’m proud of myself, so the lesson I’m taking from 2022 is that even if things don’t work out as expected, keep walking, you never know what’s around the corner.
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