But I Smile Anyway…

Another new year has arrived.

Hello, 2024.

And wishing you all a Happy New Year, too!

I’ll keep it a teeny bit subdued, as when I get excited about something at the start, things have a tendency to nosedive…

It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? We end with awful atrocities still happening in Ukraine, the awful war between Hamas and Israel, tearing Gaza apart, and poverty on the increase in so many places as the cost of living has soared.

We had the new King’s coronation here in the UK in May, too. Another historic event.

Personally, things have been up and down. I had the release of my second book, Straight As A Jalebi, which was wonderful. I visited the London Book Fair for the first time, and to be surrounded by so many like-minded folks was unreal. I got to meet my publishers, face to face, for the first time, too!

My brother visited with my Finndian family and we had such fun! My best friend finally came to stay with her daughter, too, which was a long overdue visit.

Lil Man passed his A-Levels with fantastic grades and started his new job and apprenticeship.

But, along with lots of fun, we had dark patches. Some lasting longer than others. It’s not something I will go into here, but I will say that I would never wish that kind of time on any parent, ever. Thankfully, things are looking brighter, and hopefully, they will continue increasing.

As a result of the hardships, I barely wrote. Reading and books were my solace for a long time, as we battled through.

Now, as you are aware, I have chosen a word to accompany that year over the last few years, as I haven’t set resolutions.

• 2019 – it was SELF. And I am happy to say I have been pretty good at keeping that self-care up since then, too!
• 2020 – BELIEVE. Well, let’s all agree that 2020 was a kinda unbelievable year, all in all, with the pandemic and BLM… However, I did believe. And my beliefs meant that 2020 was the year I finally became a published author!
• 2021 – I chose the word HOPE. I think we all needed hope to pull us through what I found to be a tougher year than 2020 in many ways. I travelled through it, exhausted and worried about everyone and everything around me. But I did keep that hope alive, within.
• 2022 – my choice was CREATE. I’d like to think that I managed a bit of all that I had hoped to achieve!
• 2023 – I chose the word STRENGTH. I started with a different thought in my mind, regarding the meaning of that word. Reaching the end of this year, I know I have gained strength, but in ways I never thought I would be tested.

So, last year I centred my Word Of The Year aspirations on these five things.

• Build my strength up physically, as I know that will help me as I enter that middle-aged time of life.

I started off so well… I trained for a short while, daily, with a plan created by (not so) Lil Man, so I could build my core strength up. Then, I got ill and never quite got back to it. Oops!

• Have the strength to face all the ups and downs that will come because that is life.

I think I get the crown for this one. I am not sure I have ever lived the rollercoaster of emotions that we faced as a family, this year… But I am still standing, and currently, we are in a good place!

• Be strong for my family and have the strength to fight for what is right for them, not the rest of the world.

This one, I 100% did, and will continue to do. I have to be there for my children and the best decisions for them. And I have pushed for everything to make things right for them.

• Build my community around me, be it my physical friends and family or my online ones, as there is strength in numbers.

I think this one has worked too, as even though my blogging calmed down considerably after August due to circumstances out of my control, the blogily I have around me kept in touch with me and helped me through a tough time. And building numbers? Well, yes, that happened too, as SM changed, and Twitter went to X, we got Threads and Blue Sky… plus I made more and more firm friends through my publisher and groups on Facebook.

• Ensure I keep the strength in myself so that I never lose myself under the demands of my life.

This is a big one. We faced some awful situations as a family, this year, and one of the reasons I stepped back from regular blogging was to ensure I didn’t lose myself. Because if I did that, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the needs of others, and I wouldn’t have been strong enough to cope with everything

So, which word do I add to my list for 2024?

I thought long and hard and came up with this:

Balance

• Create balance within our home life
• Balance my work/home life to leave time for my writing
• Balance time for myself along with time for others

And with this post, off I go to start that new year, filled with Self, Belief, Hope, creation, strength and BALANCE!

Another new year has arrived.

Hello, 2023. And wishing you all a Happy New Year, too!

I keep it a teeny bit subdued, as everything I get excited about something at the start, things have a tendency to nosedive…

There have been tremendous highs, like my publishing contract and the rerelease of Marriage Unarranged, and the positive outcome of the OFSTED inspection at school, but there have been horrendous lows, too. We’ve lost loved ones, and handled some more personal issues that I pray no one else ever has to handle, themselves…

And, as you are aware, I have chosen a word to accompany that year over the last few years, as I haven’t set resolutions..

• 2019 – it was SELF. And I am happy to say I have been pretty good at keeping that self-care up since then, too!
• 2020 – BELIEVE. Well, let’s all agree that 2020 was a kinda unbelievable year, all in all, with the pandemic and BLM… However, I did believe. And my beliefs meant that 2020 was the year I finally became a published author!
• 2021 – I chose the word HOPE. I think we all needed hope to pull us through what I found to be a tougher year than 2020 in many ways. I travelled through it, exhausted and worried about everyone and everything around me. But I did keep that hope alive, within.
• 2022 – my choice was CREATE. I’d like to think that I managed a bit of all that I had hoped to achieve!

So, last year I centred my Word Of The Year aspirations on these four things.

• Create harmony in my household (with two teens, that will be a challenge!)

Now, that has been quite a biggie. I’ll be the first to admit that this hasn’t been easy, but it has taken a whole load of communication and understanding, education and listening, I think we have got there, just about. I can’t be specific here, but we have had a HELL of a year in some respects, and it has been tough trying to stay upbeat, all the time, but I feel like we are leaving 2022 with a fresh, better understanding of how to handle certain situations, and I’d like to think 2023 will echo that and continue on an upwards trajectory.

• Create new dishes in my kitchen ( I just want to get cooking again!)

I may have started this one a little later in the year, but I am happy to say that I have got my cooking mojo back over the last couple of months. I have perfected old recipes and am trying out new ones, learning how to adapt recipes to suit the palates in this household, because goodness knows, there are a whole load of different preferences and tastes floating a

• Create new traditions in our new house (New house, new traditions!)

We now have our own ways to celebrate special days that involve us and our household, i instead of always rushing off to the rest of the family. That is not to say that we don’t do that. It is as much of an important part of our special times as before, but we now make sure we do things in our own home, too.

• Create new adventures for others to read (That’s the biggie!)

Well, I definitely achieved that one! Book two Straight As A Jalebi is with the publisher, already, and is due for a release in 2023!

So, which word do I add to my list for 2023?

I thought long and hard and came up with this:

Strength

• Build my strength up physically, as I know that will help me as I enter that middle-aged time of life.
• Have the strength to face all the ups and downs that will come because that is life.
• Be strong for my family and have the strength to fight for what is right for them, not the rest of the world.
• Build my community around me, be it my physical friends and family or my online ones, as there is strength in numbers.
• Ensure I keep the strength in myself so that I never lose myself under the demands of my life.

And with this post, off I go to start that new year, filled with Self, Belief, Hope, creation and STRENGTH!

This post is also part of #JusJoJan