In case you are like me (i.e. busy and extremely occupied), you might have not noticed until you accidentally move your mouse over the right bottom corner of your screen that January is almost over. 23 days of 2013 just flew by like that. This is just so unbelievable.
And despite being kept busy by Mini's routine, I have many occasions in a day to sort, re-sort and un-sort thoughts in my mind. One of the recurring idea that keeps popping up involves setting resolutions for 2013. Even as a chapter of the year is almost closing, it is never too late for resolutions. As a matter of fact, for resolutions to be effective they need to be time bound, but that does not mean it needs to be calendar bound. Well, let's take it that my year starts in February.
On the other hand, I have procrastinated penning resolutions for 2013 as I have increased skepticism in the need to do so. I am not so sure about setting resolutions for myself this year. Motherhood has led me to believe that you just can't be in control of your life all the time. Perhaps not being in control and letting things happen makes an otherwise boring and predictable life more exciting. A somewhat more valuable thing to do seems to be recalling what happened in the past year, and making sense of the 365 days that went by.
Summing up, 2012 was one of the most eventful year of my life. Obviously nothing can contest going through 38 weeks having a baby growing inside you for the first time in your life without your close ones around (of course except for P who I am very glad to have beside me all the time). But a lot had also happened in 2012.
Work wise, in the year that some thought the world is going to end, I completed my visits to all country offices in Asia. First half of 2012 was filled with travels and it brought me to many places around Asia and letting me meet many people who I
wish we have more time together with. My 2-week trip to Burma at 7 weeks pregnant was one of my most memorable work trip. During my visit, I met people who are passionate about the cause they believe in and that made me love and appreciated my work so much more. And then there was also the visit to New Delhi that gave me the chance to visit the magnificent Taj Mahal. Before I left for my maternity leave, I was informed that we secured a grant from EU. Last month, another country office got through to the full proposal stage for a global call. These were all fantastic stuff. In 2012 I also got involved with humanitarian issues which has since been made my official portfolio. I remember the days when I scrambled to send off my resume to Mercy Relief during the early days of the tsunami when it happened in 2004, only to be greeted by a cold air of silence. And when I was offered the opportunity to work with humanitarian issues I thought to myself that: "MAN, THIS IS IT!".
As I have been reminded by myself frequently, this is my 6th year away from Singapore. And you would have thought that I should be getting used to the notion of being away from home. I am not sure if this is going to happen, but it has yet to. Increasingly, I am feeling emotional as the time spent away from home lengthens. Because, let's face it, my folks are getting older and they probably need me around more now than before. My dad who has retired for half a year now gives me a call almost every other day. I try not to read too much into the frequency, but on days when I am feeling a bit down, it saddens me a lot to think about how little time and companionship I can offer him at the time that he needs the most. And for every merit I make in life, I wish and pray for nothing in return except good health for my folks because nothing really matters more than that at this age they are at. And in 2012, I felt very blessed for the arrival of Utt and my dad's retirement, we managed to spend a month together. I haven't had the chance to spend this much time with them since I left Singapore in 2007. It has been a long time and I am glad that I can finally feel like a pampered child again. At least for one full month. And as the year wrapped up in December, we also gladly had MM and Hoe visiting.
Nothing crazy happened to my marriage in 2012 which is a blessing in disguise to a couple half a decade married. In the year that we finally called ourselves parents, I was glad to have found P more giving than ever. In 2012 we made adjustments together as a family. Our mornings now start at 6-7 and our nights end before 10. We count ourselves very lucky to be able to have a few hours of couple time after putting Mini down to sleep at 7 every night. Brave was the movie we last saw in the theatre but it doesn't seem to matter that much now that we may have to miss blockbusters, suppers and night out for a while.
2012 was good to me and I am sure 2013 will be the same .
