…you reflect on 2017!

I always start my New Year’s Eve looking back on what I did for the year. I’m one of those people that likes to challenge myself to see that I did something different to the year before.

January this year I was sitting at my desk at work.

I really want to go to Nepal.

“You’ve been saying that so many times, why don’t you do it?”

I had. And it has been all talk up to that point. An hour later I booked a flight direct to Kathmandu for a two week trip.

My goal at the beginning of the year was to make the most of 2017. Really and truly. Over the last few years I’d been stuck in a rut. I’d been dealing with different things that had basically caused me to not move forward in any way. I’d lost myself in work and every day was ground hog day. I’d vowed to myself that 2017 would be different.

I’d lost my desire to travel and explore, so Nepal was the perfect step. A two week trip to explore and do a week of yoga. I trekked around the Annapurna circuit. I got to meet locals and monks. I endured 10 hour bus journeys across the country. I did a jungle safari tour. I explored the temples. I interacted with people from different walks of life.

I came back refreshed and with a new perspective on things. The clouds of the previous years were clearing and I could finally see the full picture.

I made the most of working remotely. I did so from Paris, from a beach in Portugal, and in front of the Rocky Mountains in Canada.

I attended a number of weddings, then witnessed and took part in my youngest cousin’s marriage in June.

I did a trip to Banff with the best of my friends where we hiked and laughed and white water rafted, and enjoyed the delicacies of what Canada had to offer.

For the most part, I had a pretty good year. I couldn’t complain.

Then Mum got ill, and we had to reevaluate things. Chris and I shared the responsibilities while she was in hospital. We learned the ins and outs of what meds she needed updating. The years of diabetes was effecting her heart, so a pacemaker was the best option.

Two weeks after Mum was discharged, I was diagnosed.

It’s been an eventful year, that’s for sure. A sh!t year? No, not really. Far from it in fact. Definitely an eventful one though, with just a few crap months thrown in for good measure.

So as this year comes to an end and 2018 starts, I’ll take this new year exactly as I took this current one. As an adventure. Because let’s be honest, that’s what each year brings, and the next 6 months are gonna be a hell of a ride.

So to everyone reading this, thank you for having my back so far, and thank you upfront for being there for the next part of this period. You have no idea what a difference it makes!

Here is to a happy and healthy 2018 folks!