Reflecting on 2020.
2020 has been tough. There is absolutely no mistaking how much the world has changed in the past 12 months. We could never have imagined that we would spend the majority of the year unable to see our family, queuing outside supermarkets and tuning in to Boris’ speeches with our hopes pinned on being in Tier 2. I can’t say that it has been a year of joy and ease. We lost two very important people in my life, my Uncle at the end of last year and my Granny just before Christmas. We haven’t been able to visit Rosie’s nursery and see her new classroom. We were unable to visit my Grandparents in the summer, our holiday to the Mull of Kintyre to see them is one of the things I look forwrd to more than anything. But we survived. We are going in to the New Year together and healthy and this year more than ever, that is all that matters.
We saw the New Year in, sitting in our temporary accomodation in the city centre. After months of living out of suitcases and changing from hotel to serviced appartment at the last moment we finally moved home in April. We were flooded in November 2019 and we are finally starting to feel like our home is ours again. I have never been so glad to be able to sit on my own sofa, with flooring underfoot and watch television. It really is the little things in life.
This year I also lost my job. Although at the time I was absolutely heartbroken, I have been utilising my now free time to not only sort out the house but also to work on me. I have, like most people neglected myself since becoming a mum. I stopped wearing makeup, gave up on all of my hobbies and my hair was straggly and almost back to my natural colour. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like the last couple of months I have started to feel a bit more like myself again. I have had a well overdue haircut and have been taking time for me, either when Rosie is asleep or Daniel is home from work. I have binge watched trashy tv and discovered that I am actually okay at doing my own gel nails. I have spent time crocheting and although I am still pretty terrible, I enjoy the escapism and sense of achievement it brings.
But most of all I have started blogging again. I have had blogs before but only managed a couple of posts before succumbing to imposter syndrome and stopping. I decided it was time to take the plunge and do you know what, I have loved it. I set myself the challenge of Blogmas (which I completely failed at) but I still managed to publish 13 posts as well as getting more familiar with the inner workings of my blog. I have made so many great connections, been involved in some great projects and most importantly, I have enjoyed it. At the start of December I didn’t believe I would get 100 visitors to my blog in a month so to finish the month with over 800 unique visitors and 11400 page views. I am so proud of myself, and also a little bit in shock.
This year I am not setting resolutions or goals. I don’t think it would do my mental health any good to constantly be trying to better myself in a time where the world is completely upside down. Sometimes survival is all that you can manage and that’s okay. Of course I hope I can continue to grow my blog, I can’t deny that, but above everything this year I have learnt that health is the most important thing. Cheers to a happy and healthy 2021!
Have you made any resolutions? What are you most proud of this year?
First-Time Mama to Rosie – MUA / Retail Manager – Fuelled by Coffee and Concealer – Dairy Free – Weaning Toddler – Extended Breastfeeding.
Sophie
First-Time Mama to Rosie - MUA / Retail Manager - Fuelled by Coffee and Concealer - Dairy Free - Weaning Toddler - Extended Breastfeeding.
One Comment
Timmy
I think you have absolutely smashed this year and you have done so with grace and true patience, whilst a lot of it has felt completely rotten in the moment it has been a pleasure to see how you handle things and is quite inspirational.
No one should be setting any real goals this year and certainly nothing to do with themselves, we have all had a hard enough time and this year should just be about hope and goodness. The only goal I had was that I wanted to pick a few charities to donate to each money (via direct debit, nice and easy) and do that – I have set up one so I am already half way complete with that and it helps others and has nothing to do with me really 🙂