Rest in Peace, 2019

Well, then.

2019 has been quite a year, in just about every possible way. I've completely let this blog lapse, but I really wanted to do a year-end post because I find them meaningful for me and my family (I've done one every year since 2010, and I intend one day to turn them into a booklet for my kids. Maybe when I have 20 years' worth!)

For us, this year is really best described with the word "intense". It has been a year of high highs and very low lows, in just about every aspect of life except schooling (more on that below). There have been remarkably few weeks that weren't memorable, for either great or terrible reasons. I guess at least we've known we're alive!

As is my usual wont, I think the easiest way to get a flavour for our year is to go through in categories. Even then, there will be stuff I leave out - some of it isn't mine to tell, and other things, honestly, will probably just get lost in the mix. To quote the great Inigo Montoya, "Let me explain ... no, there is too much. Let me sum up."

Living in the world

2019 has been a pretty dreadful year for a lot of people both in Australia and around the world. As I write this, on a cool, clear Melbourne day, half of the eastern seaboard of Australia is on fire, refugees are being demonised and tortured by our government, hate speech and hateful
actions are on a rampant rise, and things feel disastrous in a way that I can't remember feeling before.

The kids and I marched for climate change this year, and we all re-evaluated many things about the way we do life to look at where we can make our small stands, be it in volunteering or helping or protesting or writing or making changes to how we eat, create waste, and live.

As part of that, my eldest has moved to a pescatarian diet, and I am mostly joining her, and our whole family's meat consumption has moved to around 40% what it was in 2018. We might not be able to change the world, but we can change
ourselves, and the decisions we make.

Work, Study, Hobbies and Creativity

This has been a really, really good year for us under this heading. Indeed, I'd put it as 2019's Stand Out Category by far :-) With only one stormcloud (explained further under the Hard and Sad Things heading) and one "wish I could have found more time" caveat, everything else couldn't have been better.

My two teenagers both had a fantastic school year (in years 9 and 10 respectively), thriving both academically and personally. Both continued school debating, and my year 10's team made the finals. My year 9 was kept busy as one of the school's Social Justice Leaders, and was also the Class Captain.

Both participated in multiple other extracurricular activities and clubs through the school. Both also did work experience - the year 10 did an Astrophysics program at the University of Melbourne and loved it, while the year 9 volunteered weekly at the local library for 12 weeks as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award. My year 10 also volunteered for a term doing tutoring and mentoring for kids in need, which she really loved.

Both the teenagers also got to go to Japan for 2.5 weeks on a school immersion tour which included a homestay visit. They had the most amazing time, and we were so glad to be able to send them.

My youngest, who started Grade 5 at a new school this year, had the best year she has ever had at school, and I am so grateful and relieved. Her new school has welcomed her with open arms and she has made lovely friends and is finally able to relax, be herself, and really fly academically. I don't think I had realised what a weight had been on us all (but especially her) with the issues she was facing at her previous school, but it has been a joy to see that lifted.

In terms of work, I have had a very good year in most respects, while my husband, who has remained at his long-term job, has had a fairly steady one. I worked with five clients, on an interesting array of projects, and although there were times of overload and stress, overall, I managed my work and my energy much better than I have done in the past. Three of my five clients from this year have asked me to continue for 2020, and I have two new projects lined up. I do feel like I have really hit my stride with my business now,
and it is a good feeling.

An important thing that happened this year, too, is that I started volunteering at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. I donate 6-8 hours a week to my work there and I am finding it extremely rewarding, and it has genuinely helped shift my mindset from one of despairing about the state of the world to feeling like I am playing a part, however tiny, in being the change I want to see. Volunteering is my expression of love (for the world) and hope (for a better one), and I will keep going with it.


In terms of hobbies, my husband has seriously ramped up his photography this year, and is producing genuine works of art now. My second girl's dance and sewing hobbies have gained pace, and she's also heavily into both robotics and chess, including competing in the State Chess Finals in December. My eldest has continued with jujitsu and clarinet, while my youngest has had a bit of a rest from structured activities but has expanded her interests in drawing and gardening.

I participated in January's Month of Poetry as usual, and loved it (also as usual!) I have continued to write poetry throughout the year, but less than I would have liked, and this has been a fallow year in terms of competitions and publication (I haven't submitted anything anywhere). There have been reasons for that, but it is a slight sadness all the same.

Health and Family 

On the whole, our health has been pretty good this year, barring a few colds here and there and a revolting family gastro that slammed us in August.

The dramatic improvement in my youngest's overall health after going gluten free following her Coeliac diagnosis has been very good to see. My Mum's health has been problematic at times, which has been worrying, but seems to be better at the moment; hoping it stays that way.

Mental health has been up and down, but mostly pretty stable, this year. Those of us with anxiety have had highly anxious spells, and those of us who tend towards depression have had very flat spells, but no one has stopped functioning at any point, so overall, I'll call that a win.

One family related thing has been our project to turn our double car brick garage into a study / hobbies room for the kids. Given the lack of bedroom space inside, this seemed like a good idea. We are almost there now - the storage shed built and loaded with all the old garage stuff, the garage doors replaced with walls, the slate floor cleaned and resealed, skylights installed, wiring repaired. Painting is the only thing left to do before we move in!

Holidays, Special Days and Events

This year has been so stuffed full of these that, honestly, dot points are the only way to go!

Mini-breaks: Three mini-breaks contributed to the good parts of this year being extremely good. In January, my husband and I had a night at the Langham and went to the theatre with friends. In July, we went with my parents and my brother and sister in law to Phillip Island for a long weekend in celebration of my Mum's 70th birthday.  And in November, I took my eldest to Adelaide for the Cup Day long weekend, which was extremely fun. (PSA: if you are ever touristing in Adelaide, I highly recommend doing the EcoCaddy pedicab city tour - one of the best tourist experiences I've ever had!)

Holidays: The teenagers went to Japan with school in April (meaning that they got to see cherry blossoms for two years in a row, the lucky ducks), while husband, youngest and myself had 10 days in Far North Queensland while they were away, split between a short stay on Fitzroy Island and a week in Port Douglas. Both were great!

As a family of five, we had 9 days away in September, mostly in the Blue Mountains and finishing with 2 nights in Sydney. That was also great.

Birthdays, Halloween and Christmas: Each kid's birthday was fun, as usual, but the big birthday events of 2019 were my husband's 50th in March and my Mum's 70th in May. It was great to see them both have such a lovely day. We did Halloween as always, and had a lovely Christmas Day at my parents' house.

Hosting exchange student: We hosted our third, and (for now) final, Japanese exchange student in July. It was, as in the past, a wonderful but exhausting almost 3 weeks for us all. We won't continue in 2020, as my eldest begins her VCE journey, but we'd like to do it again later when my youngest is at the right age.

Nerdcons: Once again, the nerd family nerded away, with visits to Supanova Melbourne, OzComicCon Melbourne and Sydney, Animaga, Madman Anime Festival, and both Box Hill and Geelong Japan Festivals.

I took my eldest to the Stargate Atlantis small con as well, which was quite a different (but fun) experience.

I think we need to just accept that this is who we are now!


The Rest: There have been too many to list, but little pops of colour like the Death Cab for Cutie concert (me and a friend); brunches, lunches and dinners with friends; days in the city and the countryside; and yes, even things like movies, books and TV shows (*primarily looking at you, Stranger Things Which We Literally Binged in 8 Straight Hours*) have added significantly to the pleasures of this year.

Hard and Sad Things

This is the heading under which I have to be somewhat vague, as some of the hard things also have ongoing issues associated with them. The hardest and saddest things, though, were the loss of two precious people in my life - our family friend Trish, who was one of my brother's carer's during his lifetime and like an auntie to me, and my dear friend Meralie, whose sudden passing in early December has shaken me so badly.

We have also spent a lot of the year unwillingly embroiled in a legal matter, still not resolved, that caused (and will cause) a lot of angst and stress.

We also had an unpleasant and stressful experience with my eldest's extended Japanese study, which she did via an external organisation (not her school). She, her classmates, and we as a group of parents were treated horribly by the organisation and it was a highly stressful thing to deal with over an extended period of time.

Looking Forward

In most ways, we are seeing 2020 as a home-focused year. We're doing one short family holiday (6 days in Phillip Island in January) and a couple of mini-breaks for selected subsets of us (husband and I are doing 3 nights in Hobart in March for his birthday; I'm taking my middle kid to Sydney for 3 nights in July for a convention) but no long or expensive trips are planned. Instead, we have home renos to do, most notably our two bathrooms, which are years overdue for addressing, as well as some landscaping that needs doing.

Work-wise, I'm actively excited about two of my five projects, and comfortable with the others, which feels very positive as a way to start the new year. Another strong year in terms of earnings will position us well to do our renos and keep making inroads on the mortgage, which feels like a worthwhile thing. 

I'll be continuing to volunteer, write poetry, read books, try new recipes, spend time with those I love, and remember to tell them so. And I hope that, if nothing else, is something that the New Year might hold for us all.