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The Year Ahead and the One Behind…

January is usually a peaceful month for us spent recovering from the Christmas busy-ness. We’ve been gradually settling back into our routines, our older daughter was delighted to be reunited with her friends at nursery and returning to our weekly sensory group, exploring new soft play cafes and I’m glad to have a few days at home with the youngest (now 10 weeks old) while the older one is at nursery.

I always like to take some time to reflect on the previous year, and 2022 was another good year for us with visits to Culzean Castle and Five Sisters Zoo, trips to the beach, a night away in Edinburgh and ice-skating at Elfingrove among the most memorable moments. Our oldest daughter turned two in February, then in September my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and 7 years since we adopted our cat Mara in October, but the real highlight of the year came in November with the arrival of our second daughter, who has slotted into our family so smoothly.

The low points of the year were mostly related to illness, in March we were all knocked out by the flu, and our toddler had a night in hospital with chicken pox due to a stubbornly high fever and a secondary skin infection, then we had a nocturnal trip to A&E in October when she had croup. We ended the year and started this one with illness too, thankfully nothing serious but it’s taken me a little time to bounce back.

I don’t go in for new year diets and gym memberships, which seem so out of sync with the natural world that’s conserving energy until spring, but there are some changes I’d like to make. I started going to yoga classes in 2014 and continued right up to the month before my first daughter was born in 2020, since then I’ve struggled to get back into a routine so I’ve joined a local post natal pilates class – something I’ve wanted to try for ages – and I’m determined to get back to my old yoga studio once the baby can be left for longer.

In many ways I’m feeling very content and I don’t have any burning ambitions but there’s a whole year stretching out ahead of me and I’m looking forward to time with family and friends, reading, gardening and improving my fitness. What are your plans for the year ahead? X

10 thoughts on “The Year Ahead and the One Behind…”

    1. Oh lovely, back to Ayrshire or somewhere different? I’ve just heard that they’re planning an Eden Project in Lancashire, I went to the one in Cornwell almost 20 years ago (eek!) so would love to visit another a bit closer. X

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      1. Hi we are heading further North in Scotland this year. 🙂
        The Eden Project will be massive for Lancashire. There have been rumours about it coming for many years, so to hear that it is actually happening, very exciting!

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  4. I am hoping to be less ambitious this year and really take in what I have and the people around me without using up every last drop of energy I have! I want to embrace 2023 with love and joy. Wishing you all a healthy, happy year ahead. Your girls (including Mara) are just darling!

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    1. Thank you. Very much a believer that change is constant and inevitable so it’s important to appreciate when things are going well and not to take all our blessings (family, health, home) for granted because life can change in an instant. Hoping you have a wonderful year ahead of you. X

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  5. I love the idea of aligning our energies with the natural world! My year ahead is a blank page. My husband is military and we are due a move one way or another this year. So no big plans being made beyond being content and continuing to do all the little things that make us smile. Oh, we do need to get the camper on the road at some point but the pace of work seems to be glacial. It’s a process!

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