Good Bye 2014 and Good Morning 2015!

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It is just a few hours to starting the new year here. As we wait for the clock to strike midnight, it is always fun to sit down and think about how your year has gone by.

2014 a blessed year

This year has been extra special and full of blessings for me. Last year, on this date, I had revived my dormant blog and bought my domain to start blogging full time. It is that day and it is today. Life looks so different now. It had been just a few weeks to having delivered my fourth child and I had been diagnosed by a life threatening illness that year. Last year, the future was uncertain. I had surgeries scheduled, my family life was in chaos, my children under stress and I had no idea how we would ever be a normal family again. At that time, I badly wanted to be strong. I wanted to be positive and sure that I could put this behind me. I wanted to believe that it was in me to beat my illness. If you cannot have it, atleast fake it, I had thought.

I went out and brought a domain. Told my husband and siblings that I was turning my hobby into a profession. I told them I was giving myself a job. When I bought that domain, I was investing in a year’s worth of life. I was telling my friends and family that I would be here for the next year to blog about life, kids and hobby. It meant, I would do things with my kids, have my hobbies and run my life as best as I could because I would be blogging about it. I wanted to make sure I was accountable somewhere. I’d get out of bed, dress up and show up… as regularly as I could. My family, no doubt, wondered how I would do it and why I was investing but Z, my husband, understood.

Fast forward to now, the surgeries didn’t happen. On the contrary, my condition improved within a month and went on to improve further. The doctors couldn’t explain how it was happening. One doctor even remarked, ‘oh you are still here’ ( Really rude!!) I am still here… and my daughter is okay too. We were told that with all the radiations and procedures I had had, she would be affected. She is normal and healthy, with God’s Blessings.

As I sit here now to talk about it, do you know what I think it is that helped me? Positivity. Prayers. Perseverance.

How can Positivity help you get well? When you think positive, your brain releases feel good hormones or endorphins. These have an over all effect on you. They work somewhat like pain killers. You get better.

I am blessed to have family and friends who love me and pray for me. In the course of this year, I have received calls and visits from people I had met as long back as when I was just a child. They heard from some one about my illness and called to say that I was in their prayer. I was ashamed that I didn’t know them but thankful that I had them in my life. I have gotten up in the middle of the night to find my husband on the prayer rug praying. I have overheard my son teaching his sister to pray for ‘mom and the new baby’. There was every reason for me to get well. This year, I have seen God’s Hand in action when at the last moment I was pulled out of surgery because the ‘preparations’ were inadequate. I have seen doctors who people waited months to see. I have been given medicines which we were told was unavailable in the country. Miracles do happen. Prayers do get answered and only He knows when the time is right.

What about Blogging? Blogging bought me readers, friends and ideas. I have learnt so many things inthis one year that I couldn’t in the past 11 years. The reason is because I had never opened my mind to the options. I had always wanted to go back to school and get that PhD. Research was all that had mattered.

In the beginning of the year, I had challenged myself to at least earn back the amount that I had put in for buying the domain. I didn’t monetize until June and when I did, I earned it back in that very month. Could I earn the cost for the hosting, I had asked myself. Then, it was the tools that I needed for blogging… This blog is ready for 2015!

Blogging has taught me how to better manage my time. Before 2014, I had only cared about finding an hour or two a day for my me-time but ever since I turned to blogging, I learnt how I could better utilize my time to work. I wanted my me- time, I wanted to work and I wanted to play with my kids. Any other job and I would have been struggling but the fact that I was blogging about my hobbies and my kids meant that I could have my cake and eat it too!

If for not the money, not the fun of it all and not even the experience, if there is one thing that blogging really helped me with was finding an answer to my children’s anxiety. I am a science graduate. I did not study education anywhere so I did not know about Sensory methods to play with my children. Now, that is the way we play.

My Goals for 2015

Last year my resolutions were very simple. I did accomplish them all except the exercise part.

20 ab crunches, 10 sit ups and 20 minutes of walk? Who was I kidding?! I have never been serious about exercise. I have never really needed it because I was quite active and there was always a lot of walking around the neighbourhood. Four kids, 35 years of cheese and chocolate later, I think I should get some exercise now. Especially since I am aching in my butt hip after jumping off the safety gate in our kitchen today and unable to sit properly to even write this. ::fat::

This year, I need to polish my people management skills. My father recently remarked that managing people is an art and those who can, do not have to worry about things getting done. Ouch!

India celebrates the Republic Day on 26th January. My children who have been brought up abroad have never celebrated Indian national holidays. Before, they were too young to understand but now that we are slowly learning, I’d like for us to celebrate it with more awareness.

Ever since my illness, my husband and I have both focussed on healthier eating. We were able to teach our children to make healthier choices too. I was recently amazed when my son came home from a school party to remark how he hadn’t eaten much because they had too much junk food. I am hopeful we can taste, test and include more healthy food options in our diet this year too.

For now, that is all on my mind. It is 15 minutes to midnight here so… Happy New Year 2015!

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