2019 Recap

As we come to the end of a decade, there are so many things I want to reflect on. I started my blog 10 years ago. The main reason for starting this blog was to capture the everyday moments which I might miss otherwise. I think it is safe to say that I did miss documenting many many such memories in here. Life happened and I quit writing here. But, I also kept coming back because I loved it. Every time I felt happy, sad or worried, I always wanted to come and write here.

Earlier this year, when I moved my blog here, I read through most of my posts. I was smiling through most of the memories and was determined to come and write here. I actually did write a lot of posts, but never published them because I was waiting to add the final details to those posts – mostly pictures. So, I will start the new year by publishing those unfinished posts.

Many things happened this year. The major thing was my FIL being sick and having to undergo by-pass surgery. I know it is very common these days, but in his case it was complicated. He developed so many complications and finally recovered. We went through a roller coaster of emotions for almost 3 months. It was a rough time. S was in India for the most part and I managed every thing here by myself. I am glad I was able to take care of everything so that S could focus on his dad. He also had to take care of his work. There were days when he was in the hospital all day and worked at night. I am really grateful that my FIL recovered well.

Later in the year, my MIL also needed a small surgery. Although, it was a minor one, we were a bit worried about the recovery because of her age. Really grateful that she made a full recovery as well and that My SIL was able to go and assist her for a couple of weeks. I was also planning to go to help, but my MIL didn’t need it.

Now, onto the other things. Sarath finished elementary school and moved on to middle school. I cannot believe it sometimes that he is in middle school. He is taller than me and has a tiny little mustache that he is really proud of 🙂 He won the school Geography Bee in January. He also qualified for the state level Geo Bee which happened in Fresno, CA. The kids and I drove to Fresno in March for the state level competition while S was in India. I was nervous a bit about driving all the way to Fresno and back by myself, but it was fun. Sarath also went on his first camp with his school – 3 day science camp and a week long summer camp with his boy scouts group.

Sanjay has moved onto upper grades now. He has grown so much in the last year and I cannot believe that he only has about two more years in elementary. These kids are surely growing up fast. He still wants to work with planes when he is older and also wants to be a writer. Sanjay also joined the boy scouts this year. He takes his scout activities very seriously and loves going to his scout meetings. He also went on his first camp with his dad as part of the cub scouts group.

My work has been at an all time low in 2019. Hopefully, it will be better next year. There are times when I feel really bad about it, but S keeps reminding me the reason why I wanted to work from home and be a freelancer. I wanted to be able to spend more time with the kids and that is something I get to do every day. I am happy about that, but sad that my career is not moving the way I want it to go. Ah well… I guess we really cannot have it all. I did spend some time today prioritizing my work tasks and projects. Hopefully that will help me move my projects forward.

We were able to take a few trips this year even after S spent a couple of months in India. We went to Lake Tahoe, Antelpe Canyon and the Zion National park. We also went on a camping trip to Lassen volcanic national park along with a few other families. We cooked together and went on a hike together. We love travelling and had loads of fun.

So many thoughts and so many resolutions as usual as we hit the new year. The one thing I want to do this year is to take care of my health. That is my top priority – not just for me, but for all of us. Getting the kids to eat healthy and stay active has been a big challenge. I also find it difficult to consistently go to the gym. Somehow I have to change that this year. Hopefully I will able to do it and also blog about it 🙂

So, here is to the new year and a new decade. Hoping to have a happy and healthy year. Wishing all of you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!