Looking Back On 2020, Looking Forward To 2021
My year-in-review posts feel like they are coming around quicker with each passing year. One part of me feels wistful at the idea of time going by so quickly while another part feels grateful for all that is happening in my life to make time fly by.
I don’t think any one of us anticipated what 2020 had in store for us. What a trip this year has been for me: the highest of highs, the lowest of lows and everything in between.
With that said, let’s jump in:
Parenthood
ICYMI: we added another little member to our family!
Our baby girl Jiyana arrived in the summer, completing our family 🙂
Suffice to say, parenthood has been one of the biggest areas of change in my life. Raising three (Milo counts!) kids is a whole different ball game. The combination of a cheeky fur baby, a busybody chatterbox toddler and a tiny newborn put my mom ninja skills into overdrive as I attempt to wrangle all of them on the daily.
Seeing how Kiaan has evolved into a sensitive little boy and big brother makes me feel so proud. For a three year old he was presented with a lot significant and somewhat unexpected life changes and he handled it all with such ease.
Due to the pandemic and global shutdown, from March to September he was at home doing online learning, unable to see his friends or go out to play, but he never once made a fuss or gave me any grief about it. He just seamlessly and easily adjusted to his new normal.
Similarly with the arrival of his baby sister: Kiaan was so excited to meet her and at first I don’t think he quite understood the whole idea of having a sibling but just a few months in and he’s showing off his baby sister to his friends in the playground saying “That’s my baby sister!”. He’s so kind, gentle and caring towards her — it makes me really happy to see the amazing bond they’ll share as they grow up <3
I also have to add that it’s been a very interesting transition for me from being a parent of two (including Milo) to managing what my husband and I call “our brood of three”. There was a steep and quick learning curve on how to manage all three effectively and efficiently and I have to say it came down to teamwork — I couldn’t do it without my husband and extended family stepping up and helping out.
Work-Life Balance
It’s been a very interesting year — I imagine for most people — given the global pandemic and how it has affected work situations around the world.
I am really grateful I was able to continue working from home on my freelance projects and I am even more grateful to be able to find new clients to work with.
Finding work-life balance with Kiaan being home most of the year, my pregnancy and the birth of Jiyana has been a challenge for sure. I don’t think there was much balance, to be honest. But I am proud of myself for hustling harder and working smarter when and where I could to get things done.
I took about 4 months off after having Jiyana and it was really nice to slow down my life for a bit before going back to work. I’m still taking it very slow because I don’t want to spread myself too thin and burn out. And I think I plan to continue at an easy pace into 2021.
Blogging
If you read my 2019 post, then you know that last year was a really good year for my blog. I was writing diligently and consistently and I grew my audience in a big way. I also had grand plans to launch a blog newsletter in 2020 but it never happened. My writing has also been pretty spotty throughout the year and it’s mainly due to external factors such as feeling ill while pregnant, not having enough time due to home schooling Kiaan and other work commitments, and finally having a newborn to take care of!
That being said, I am still happy I was able to write and publish posts to the best of my capability this past year. Perhaps my blog newsletter will come into fruition in 2021? I’m not sure. I have also been toying with the idea of revamping the blog and giving it a new look and direction. It’s something I’m excited to work on in 2021. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s all going 🙂
Health & Fitness
If 2020 has taught me anything at all, it is to be grateful for my health. To have good health (even if my body isn’t at its optimal level of health or fitness at the moment) is something to cherish.
I really did want to get into a good fitness routine in 2020 but, of course, being pregnant kind of put a wrench in those plans. And then being pregnant in a pandemic made me extra paranoid about my own health and safety so I pretty much stayed at home for the whole year to minimise any exposure to myself and my new baby for pretty much the whole year.
I did my best to stay fit while pregnant and then after giving birth with at-home workouts on YouTube, which I do really enjoy, but it’s not easy balancing my brood and other commitments. I purposely did not have any lofty weight loss goals for the remainder of 2020 because there is no point being with a new baby and breastfeeding and all that. I wanted to focus on simply moving and pumping endorphins through my body.
This year I truly realised what impact a little bit of movement and exercise can have to increase my energy levels and maintain a positive state of mind, given that I’m not getting the best sleep and rest right now with a new baby in the mix.
Family & Friends
It’s hard not to think about how the pandemic has shaped my perspective on family and friendship this year and how grateful I am for what and who I have in my life.
Being able to see and meet family and friends is something I took for granted: I never anticipated a time in my life where that simple choice would be taken away.
I am so incredibly grateful most of my immediate family lives in Bangkok and we are able to see each other. But for my extended family and friends who don’t have this choice — it breaks my heart. I am glad we live in a time where technology has made it way easier to stay in touch and ‘see’ each other virtually.
I hope 2021 brings good news in the way of family and friends being reunited.
Travel
Well…what can I say? I traveled the most in 2020 to the kitchen. Did anyone else bake banana bread like it was going out of style?
I don’t think I missed traveling until the later half of the year when I usually have plans to see friends or have family come to visit. While going overseas was not an option at all this year, I managed to do two local road trips with family and friends and they were really great (and again, so grateful that I was able to do it. in the first place!).
For no other reason than to just see my friends and family overseas, I hope to travel safely again in 2021.
Ironically, last year I ended my post by saying “So here’s looking forward to 2020 — a new year and new decade — and all the curveballs it has in store for each and everyone of us.” Well, it wasn’t a bunch of curveballs but one huge one — the coronavirus pandemic — and definitely not one any of us looked forward to. And as badly as I don’t want this blog post to be about the pandemic, it’s hard to ignore the impact it had on my life this past year.
For me 2020 has been a year of valuable lessons in humility, gratitude, kindness, resilience, patience and adaptability and revealing that I am more capable and resilient than I give myself credit for.
I hope you found some of that positivity and light in a year that has been difficult and dark at times.
Have a safe, healthy and happy new year. See you in 2021 🙂
