January 2020 was brimming with promises of a much better year ... 2019 has been a complete write off and I was determined to make big changes and get back to living my best life.
My hopes for 2020 were that it would be a year of rebuilding... healing and acceptance.
I busily 'packed' the calendar with future events.... rebooked our Cambodia trip...and also week in Melbourne... bought tickets to Cirque du Soleil .. and John Edwards.... and also the doTERRA Convention plus a weekend retreat in Echuca with a friend. I managed to scatter the entire year with things to look forward to.... and then.... Covid 19 came along and everything was cancelled.
Aside from all of the interruptions ...cancellations and hiccups that 2020 threw our way.... we did have some wonderful moments to be thankful for.... we were given good news when it easily could have been bad... and I came out the other side a little wiser and accepting... albeit tired and wounded.
Here is a little recap of the wonderful highs.... and lows of 2020
- We began the year with South Australia experiencing terrible bushfires ... our hearts were broken for the damage and loss.
- I was walking daily... and feeling a real energy shift. I also decided to 'TRY NEW THINGS'.... so I took a pottery lesson and enjoyed some sailing lessons on our lake.
- I preserved a LOT.... we made homemade tomato sauce...tomato passata... tomato relish...apricot.. quondong and plum jam...quince paste ..dill cucumbers .. onion jam ... pickled beetroot and zucchini pickles.
- We grabbed every chance we could to get away in Winnie our motorhome... we visited Ardrossan... camped on the river ... took the kids away to the Fleurieu and did a trip of the Eyre Peninsula.
- I vowed to scapbook more.... I did scrap about 10 layouts and then fell off the wagon again... however I did plunge myself back into quilt making... and have 7 quilts finished. I also jumped back into sewing my own clothing.... it had been many years since Id made a garment for myself... so I was a little rusty to begin with.... however I've made quite a few pieces in 2020 some of them I love to bits.... some of them not so much.
- We realised that through lockdown that our lives were not affected too much.... we are both (and most of our kids) essential workers.... so it was business as usual. Yes... we stepped up our cleaning and sanitising... and washed everything that came into our home... but really it felt like life as normal. We were among the lucky ones.
- We re-did our backyard and added in raised veggie beds and compost bins.... little did we know that this would become my most favourite hobby... I believe pottering in my veggie garden has been a sanity saver and I've grown some awesome food.
- We lost our beautiful and funny Betty - my Step Grandmother ... she was so loved by us all. She contracted Covid while a patient in the Burnie hospital (admitted for back pain) and passed away a week or so later. It seemed so surreal that she could be here and then gone.
- We didn't make it to Cambodia.... that was 2 years running that our Cambodia trip was paid for and cancelled.... so we took the camper and headed to the Flinders Ranges. Not quite Cambodia but it was still lovely.
- I bought a new car... just a little baby smaller one ... I love it. (It only had 5000kms on the clock when we hit a kangaroo - there was a lot of damage... thankfully it was repairable)
- I had 3 breast surgeries ... 3 stays in Flinders Medical Centre... all related to my Breast Implants post breast cancer. (I had the Allergan implants which have a risk of BIA ALCL lymphoma) Unfortunately the right implant had ruptured and left silicone floating freely. I have had long term swelling and inflammation ... so this year Ive had numerous surgeries to investigate abnormalities and remove silicone. I also scored a couple of complications like an abscess requiring surgery to drain.... and a small pneumothorax during surgery.
- Oh and lets not forget that I was possibly in contact with a person with Tuberculosis...so am having testing to make sure I haven't contracted it. First tests negative... more to have next year.
- I got a sleepy lizard named 'Lizzy' I loved her.... then a brown snake appeared in our yard...and Lizzy was gone.
- The weather was so unpredicatable.... hot and dusty one minute then days of unexpected rain here and there as well. Everything looks a lot greener than it did this time last year.
- We had all the kids home for Christmas....Mum... my Brother / SIL and 2 of their kids as well....it was a lovely relaxing day.... so thankful to have all my babies all in one place.
I learned what really makes me happy..... and its simplicity... its homegrown... handmade... recycled... low waste....low tox. I also learned I am overwhelmed quickly by noise... action...and 'to-do' lists.. so I really hope to cut more 'life noise' out of my life in 2021.
What are your goals for 2021?
Post a Comment