I’ve not been much interactive at all through any social media channels including WhatsApp. I never managed to even message some good friends to ask them how they are. I just hoped all was well with those ones and moved on. Most of my conversations was only about work. The exhaustive list of work pressures and things to-do that had crowded my mind is done now. I’m glad just that thought makes me feel free and relaxed now.

When there’s so much to deal with, my focus is usually scattered. However, I’m glad that I have made a few good ways to use my energy. Saying Yes to these have not only made things better, but also has kept me on the move.

Writing was that leisure holiday, that I never took. I could have at least had the room to myself for a few minutes or hours. After all, I am just glad to be here, finally writing something down. It definitely feels like a breath of fresh air. That tight grip in the head has loosened automatically now.

They kept me moving

These 7 things kept me going in 2024. I am glad that I used whatever energy I managed to gain and keep going happened because of these.

Work : This definitely keeps me going till date. We had the biggest Go-Live after working for almost 2.5 years in this project. The Live happened on my birthday. I moaned a bit about it, but totally loved the whole experience. This place has given me so many wonderful challenges as well as learning and the best people. What more can I ask for. I’ve worked hard to be where I am now. Having learned so much in the last 2.5 years about healthcare, I feel proud to work in this sector that has so much potential. I am happy to be cherished by the team. It has been a lovely journey so far to be part of such a wonderful team.

Health: If not for Shailaja and Saranya, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish whatever I did. I didn’t run a 5k yet, nor walked 10000 steps everyday. It’s not even doing the 108 sun salutations or eating the perfect meal everyday that I can call proud achievements. It is about prioritising to choose to move every time over choosing to sit-down and talk or watch irrelevant things. Health is not complete without adding good nutrition. It’s choosing that extra bit of protein and fibre in every meal. If I say, I re-tried overnight oats and loved it, it would be an understatement. Yoga classes have also been one of the best things that’s happened in 2024. Such a brilliant master, such amazing students and morning workouts – the best always happens in unexpected times. And of course, what would we 3 do without songs and dancing in our lives.

Family: What would I do without them. The vacation to India proved to be the most exhausting one, yet I loved being around my people. Just like time spent with children is never wasted, so is time spent with family. It was always any one of them. Now that I get the dose in moderation, I wanted to make sure I spent it well. Mum, dad, ammama, in-laws, uncles and aunts, cousins whom I managed to meet and all the amazing fun we had. I cherish this as I grow older and thankful to be blessed with such amazing family.

Friends: When all I need is a break, this is where I get it. Maybe we weren’t drinking beers and relaxing in a beach-house (maybe I’ll save that for later). It’s always conversing like there is never a tomorrow. I wished my daughter managed to come with me, but she’s wanting to next year. That’s my girls always, just being there is fun. Undoubtedly, I’ve got just a couple of close ones here. It’s always a pleasure to have some open conversations without having the slightest doubt of judgement, I’ve learned from them how to be.

Love: If not for my partner, there’s no way I could have managed it. Though we live quite diverse lives, the thing that connects us always is conversation. It has been quite a difficult one for him in almost every segment of his life. He’s always been thankful, always doing the best he can where he could, and focussing on the present moment. It’s been quite a journey for us where work has overtaken a lot of my time and conversation. Had I been in his shoes, I would have handled it differently. I must thank him for always choosing kind while only I try to choose kind when I want to. The best moments we spent together are definitely the walks we went together. Saying the Yes to walks was worth it.

Kid(s): If not for her, I wouldn’t be unlearning and relearning a lot about myself and life itself. From trying to stay calm while she lets out a screeching tone (amma), to trying to focus on the okay now that it happened, can we see what we can do next, she does the inner engineering for me. Above it all, she’s kind and she loves it when I am kindest with her (can do that only in the holidays, so far). She’s growing so quickly that it’s like by the time I get there, she’s already on the next step. I really have a lot of parenting catch-up to do. Now that she’s got two little cousins, she’s been a lot of I’m the older sister responsibility. My nephew is my very own and will always be. As my niece grows up, she’s going to be such a sassy queen.

Reading: I’ve managed about 10 books and I must say every read was a brilliant one. Yes, I spend more time reading books with her, reading to her that I find less time to read mine. I love the kids books, never managed to read them before, nor knew them before. The variety is encouraging and sometimes, it’s all pleasantly funny. There’s a lot of laughing out loud moments when I read to her. I like it. We do the voices, she corrects my accent, it’s Gabby not, Gaby.

Photo by Jayanthy Govindarajan on Unsplash

It’s been quite a journey in 2024. Looking forward to 2025, especially to write and be in touch with people. <3

The post 2024: The Busiest Year by far appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.

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!

The post 2020 Year in Review appeared first on JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE.