Sitting down to write this post I looked back at my similar post from this time last year where I pledged to be kind to myself. As I read through it I realised that many of the things I set out to achieve didn’t materialise and I was a bit downhearted. Although I knew that often they didn’t happen for good reason rather than just life’s busyness, although at times I think that and the lethargy that had been building over the year played its part too it was still a disheartening read. But it was only as I remembered I was meant to be being kind to myself that I realised that I had been after all. Had I been driven by achieving everything, quite honestly I think something would have had to give.

So while I didn’t achieve everything I set out to, and while sometimes it’s been quieter here than I’d have hoped, and I haven’t been as on top of things everywhere, that’s ok as 2018 has been a tricky year for us. But it’s been one full of family time with commitments reevaluated and with plenty of highs to counterbalance some of the lows. We lost my FIL relatively quickly to cancer, but we’ve also celebrated eightieth birthdays for both mums with afternoon tea and a surprise weekend in Birmingham and that impromptu trip the ballet. There’s been holidays, but not the big trip to the US as we thought, as it was more important to be able to get home quickly if we needed to.

There was some big work on the house with our conservatory revamp, and smaller jobs too with some new wallpaper, which you’ll already know I’m very pleased with. Our garden - and time working in our garden - suffered though as there wasn’t much time to spare and we reluctantly also gave up our plot, as that was one thing too far, even for us.

Overall though, I was kinder to myself, despite my first reaction when reading last year’s post. I was still busy, and it was a busy year at work as well and as ever there was still lots to do (and most of it got done), and there was a promotion for me at work too. However, the biggest act of kindness was finally taking myself to the doctors towards the end of the year and giving myself permission to slow down.

It’s clear that in 2019 I need to continue the kindness - and build on it - so the word I’ve chosen for this year is tenacity. I’ve a feeling that I’ll need to approach this year with determination, patience and persistence and it’s a word that works in many ways, whether that’s related to pursuing my health to make sure I get the right answers, crafting and learning new skills and of course, booking that big holiday which is back on again, and this year we’re determined to make it happen.

We’ve a family wedding to look forward to as well and a milestone birthday for my dad, and who knows what other celebrations the year will bring. No doubt there’ll be the usual house jobs to do, many left over from last year and we’re hoping to really make progress with the garden again, making sure we schedule in plenty of time to enjoy it too.

It’s not just our garden that we’re planning to enjoy, MOH has already started a list of restaurants and pubs we should visit, and more ambitiously I’ve places for weekends and short-trips. I’ve some photo books to put together for the past three years, and I’ve some plans for my blog too, which include sharing many of the older photos which for whatever reason haven’t made it here yet.

I knew I had a few posts that I wanted to write and photos to share, but seeing just how many means I won’t run out of content any time soon, and that’s without even doing anything new! But even so, 2019 already feels like it’s got potential to be a busy year, and I’m sure that we’ll do our best to influence how it plays out as best we can, as much as any of us can.

What’s on your radar for this year?