2020 Year in Review

The year 2020 has been an interesting one despite the pandemic. I am lucky and blessed to be alive. One of the best moments that I’d cherish 2020 was to be able to travel and live together as a family.

Yes, I miss the big family back in India, but I am glad they are all safe there. That very thought makes me feel content as I live miles and miles away.

2020 – Year of Online Wedding

I was not able to attend my sister’s wedding and I missed it so much. I already felt miserable, but was actually made to feel more miserable by some people around me. Still, I was confident enough to inform my parents to keep going per the fixed dates and not change it for us. That was one decision that made my 2020 feel altruistic and happy.  Thanks to technology, my sister’s wedding officially became the first online wedding in the family that I attended. I must say I was very happy to watch it online.

Elders Health when Miles and Miles Away!

When my 80+ year old grandmother slipped and cracked her hip bone, I was literally in tears. With shattered thoughts and crying prayers, I really wished I was there next to all of them. Thinking about travel with a baby, during the lockdown gave me shivers. I cannot at any cost put my child or myself at risk for my fears. My grandmother’s willpower, my aunt’s courage and prayers from all over the globe made her get better. I was made to realize how blessed I am to have a family like them. What I understood was having our loved ones in our thoughts and prayers helps heal them and us.

When my father-in-law fell and hurt himself, I was deeply worried how my husband is going to cope up. His thoughts were too deep and worrisome, since travel wasn’t the immediate possiblity, but we realized prayers heal.

We lost a few people in 2020, some because of the pandemic and a few others due to general illness. Overall, we prayed and shared our grief with the family through the best way we can – through communication. We spoke, we shared our thoughts, we consoled, we held together and we prayed for all!

2020 – Year of Knowing People Better

Throughout the year, we communicated a lot to all we know and know less. I connected on a regular basis (yes, in a feasible way) with some good friends. Oh, the pleasure of good company. I made a couple of new friends in the new place who made my 2020 enjoyable.

Spending some time with people I don’t know much was a nice learning. Also, I spent some time waiting for people to cut calls and overall contacts. I am still learning to be polite with people whom I am not comfortable with, but I will get there soon, maybe in a couple of years! 😛

 What I learned in 2020 is that I love being left alone in my own world. In my 30s, I realize more about my best buds who love me and my company. We chit-chat or talk at length, but we love to stay connected.

To my surprise, in 2020, I have walked away from a lot of people and realized I feel so free and clear now. Be it family or friends, I understand my boundaries better.

Learning in 2020

Thanks to staying at home, I got the opportunity to take a Montessori Teacher Training Course. I am a happy mother because I learn so much about children. Learning how they behave, how I behave as a parent, as an individual, a child’s mind overall. It plays an important part in parenting. This learning enables me to change my parenting pattern and also learn a lot about toddler life.

Why I love to read about the Montessori method despite the vastness? While the traditional approach to teaching is syllabus centric, the Montessori method is child-centric. I am glad that now I find the time to sit down and color or talk with my child more than I could manage in the past. Lending my ears to a 3.5 year old is an interesting choice to make.

I am delighted to make that choice. Also, I learn about healing myself, the anger tantrums that I throw as a parent, the choices that makes us laugh, how much of sharing is enough, and so much more. More on the parenting blog on this!

Reading/Listening and Writing

The year 2020 was disappointing helped me make a brave move with hosting. Finally, I chose Chemicloud an shifted both my websites to their hosting services. Until then, I had so many issues with hosting, keeping the blog alive, and constantly fighting with people who did not provide the services they said they would.

I couldn’t write even half of what I planned for in 2020. That’s alright now, I have made peace with that thought. I clubbed reading and writing together because I did little of both. Not great, but still a happy experience.

I started a separate blog on toddler life, to share my two cents on parenting and motherhood. As much as I enjoy writing in it, I also enjoy reading it later when I am moody. At times, these articles give me an insight about my parenting and myself. I love that about it.

I listened to audibles in 2020 after reading a few reviews about the experience. Here, I must agree that I was apprehensive about listening to books just the same way I was about moving to reading on Kindle. Even though I managed to listen to 3-4 titles only this year, I still enjoyed the experience thoroughly.

Time with Family

We entered national lockdown from the 4th day I came here. I must really say that I am still thankful for my travel. This lockdown has taught me so many things about my marriage. In fact, it was more about learning to live together again.

Father-daughter duo managed to make up for their lost time together. As a mother and the eldest daughter, I am very delighted to watch them together.

Since the husband loves to cook, we now see cooking as a way of spending time with family. So, this lockdown, we managed to cook a variety and spend some memorable moments in our very own kitchen.

Communicate was my word for 2020 and I am glad I used my voice where it was necessary. There’s more to finding my inner strength and voice, but my journey so far is blessed.

I managed to get some coloring activities for myself and I enjoy doing it with my little girl. Often, she follows me in coloring, but for most other staying in the moment, I follow her.

Hale and Healthy – Year 2020, 2020, 2021 and Forever

I had several health hiccups in 2020. I had severe backpain and understood my core strength was totally down. Thanks to Raj, the yogini, I started following Kino McGregor and I must say I love her. There were days when I followed a yoga regime several times a day due to my health issues. All that matters to me now is that I know where to go to find my sanity.

Yoga and walking are my two keys to hale and healthy lifestyle. I couldn’t continue Silambam like I expected, but I wil get there slowly in a couple of years. When I followed Silambam, I felt a shield surround me that made me feel vibrant. I definitely miss that. However, looking forward to more yoga in 2021.

I wish you all a hale and healthy life this 2021!

Overall, I enjoyed 2020, even with a lot of ups and downs, I am glad to be alive. Also, I feel thankful and blessed for 2021!