2022

I’ve been trying to reflect on the past year but my brain just doesn’t want to play along. So I thought I’d just start and see what happens… It’s been a big year so this is likely to be a long read.

I was really unsure how this year was going to go as my kids were all either struggling at the end of last year, or had a big year coming up. So there’s been lots of energy and time put into them this year, but it’s been so worth it as all have finished the year in a good place. That was like my best Christmas present. Which is lucky because they don’t get me anything 😂

I wanted to get some work this year to contribute to the family finances. I was bringing in a bit with my stall, but wanted to start making more. After a brief try at the soul destroying process of finding a job I took a chance and started a “mums helper” business. That took off really well, lots of demand and was very fulfilling, but not something that I could do long term. At the same time I also started a virtual assistant business because that is something that fits in perfectly with my life; and I’d been enjoying the bit of VA work that I was already doing. I did a bit of work with that, but owning a business means you are constantly looking for work and that does not bring me joy. I like people to just give me work rather than having to find it myself! 😉

So as I was thinking about what my ideal job entailed I stumbled across a job that was posted in a local FB group. It was for admin/advertising sales, so I figured I’d find out more. A few emails, a trip to the office to meet the other people in the team, and at the age of 52 I have my first job that pays public holidays, annual leave, and sick pay. Also still doing VA work for my OG client which I like doing – it’s funny because one of the reasons I like my office job is getting out of the house and talking to people, and one of the reasons I like my VA work is that I can do it from home and don’t have to talk to anyone!

The only issue with getting my job so far is that it’s thrown off my “balance” and I don’t have as much downtime which I need for my mental health. I haven’t had the time or inclination to do my gardening or other activities that were helping keep me on track mentally. I even made the decision to close my stall for a while because I couldn’t keep up with it. Being peri-menopausal hasn’t helped either, that is kicking my butt big time with the symptoms and hormonal fluctuations. Oh and I fell down the stairs again in the middle of the year and fractured my ankle, which meant that my walking, that had been pretty sparse anyway, was non-existent.

All of that meant I was feeling pretty burnt out by December. And then I got covid thanks to Mr T’s work xmas party. It’s annoying because I remember going to work on Monday 12th Dec and feeling good – the school holidays had meant a bit of sleep in and no school run so I was feeling pretty rested. Tuesday 13th I started feeling really off, but I wouldn’t have thought it was covid unless Mr T got a message about someone at the work party testing positive. My symptoms were a bad headache, light-headedness, and fatigue. By the end of the week I developed cold/flu symptoms and they hung around for a few days, then my tongue swelled up and my body just ached. I felt really guilty about work, getting paid when you aren’t working is a weird feeling when you aren’t use to it! But I really didn’t want to give anyone else covid heading into Christmas, and honestly I would have been a bit useless.

It’s been almost 3 weeks and the last couple of days my eyes were blurry. This morning I can see better though thankfully! Still feeling fatigue, tongue still slightly swollen, hands also still feeling a bit swollen/arthritic, but otherwise ok. Mr T also got covid but it seemed to hit him harder with initial symptoms and the fatigue but he’s pretty much been back to normal the last few days.

Having covid really threw a spanner in the works for Christmas plans – we were going to go up to Bribie a few days before Christmas and probably come home Boxing day or so. But we were still testing positive the week before Christmas and there was no way we were risking taking covid up to Terry’s mum. We ended up just going for Christmas lunch and coming home – we were still both so tired there was no point in staying up there. I did however go up on the 28th for a night away – it’s something I do from time to time as it gives me a “mini getaway” and time to recharge. And Mr T and kids are going to go up today (NYE) and stay up there for a few days. He’s still on holiday next week so can do that.

One decision I made towards the end of this year when I realised how off-balance I was, was to get back to walking & running. But in a guided way – so I made an appointment to see an Exercise Physiologist. I had my first appointment just before I got covid, which put a bit of a dampener on things, but the last few days I’ve felt ok enough to do the exercises and go for short walks. And my fave Learn To Run program is starting on Jan 9th (my birthday!) so I’m going to join in with that, but work with the EP as well so I don’t overdo anything.

So I’m hesitantly looking forward to 2023. There are memes going around about “no one claim next year to be your year”, “ok lets all go into next year quietly, sit down, and don’t touch anything”. We are all feeling a bit shell-shocked from the past 3 years and the collective trauma is still being felt, even while in some ways we are being told to “get back to normal”. But normal has changed, and some of those changes are good (work flexibility, employees being valued more, or at least realising their value more) so I hope they stay around!