Looking Back on 2019, Looking Forward to 2020 (And A New Decade!)

I feel like it was just yesterday I was noting down my thoughts for my 2018 year in review post and somehow another 365 days have passed by, a lot has happened, and I’m back here reflecting on 2019 and looking forward to 2020. 

Well, let’s jump right in! 

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Parenthood

I realised early on this year that my baby is not really a baby anymore; Kiaan is toddler — a little person in his own right — who is super curious about the world around him and wanting to learn how to do everything. So the first half of this year was really focused on exposing Kiaan to new environments, developing his social skills, expanding his language and vocabulary all in an effort to get him ready for preschool! Honestly, thinking about preschool for Kiaan felt like such a faraway event in 2018 but it crept up on me much quicker than I expected. Kiaan started school in July and I’m happy to say the transition overall has been really positive. I also feel like since he started school he’s grown up suddenly and talking so much more. We’re now having all kinds of conversations about anything and everything — Kiaan’s questions and curiosity have no end! I can see that Kiaan’s becoming a lot more independent and assertive with his likes and dislikes and he’s able to communicate much more clearly what he wants. I envision 2020 being the year of a lot of negotiation and strategy as Kiaan pushes the boundaries I’m trying to set 😉 

Work-Life Balance

This is my second year working from home / freelancing and it’s been great in terms of having the flexibility to dedicate time to both kids. But I think I had a tough reality check that working from home is not as “easy” and “convenient” as it appears (read more in this post). There are always so many distractions happening all around and I have to work extra hard to be disciplined to get my work done. And it’s impossible to be in the same “work mode” every single day because being at home means things keep coming up and I have learned to be okay with being derailed from my plans and readjusting. Kiaan starting school has helped create a better work-life balance because I can now use the mornings to focus on work and then I’m way more relaxed about spending the afternoons / evenings with him without being stressed about work and other things. 

Blogging

Perhaps the one area of my work / life I am most proud of — my little blog that launched in the middle of 2018 has grown tremendously in 2019! The number of readers has grown 4x in the span of a year and that rate of growth is something I didn’t see happening for a long time. If there’s anything I’ve been consistent with in 2019, it’s my blog’s content calendar. I made a strategic choice to switch from posting once a week to twice a week in the middle of the year and I stuck to it like a moth to a flame. It’s been a game changer for the blog. I found my voice and point of view and now there’s a small community of readers that engages with my blog and give me feedback — it’s been incredible to connect with each and everyone of them because they keep me going. Going into 2020 I have some exciting plans to grow the blog and one of my goals is to launch a weekly blog newsletter so I hope you’ll sign up and join the family! 

Health & Fitness

It’s been a roller coaster of a year for my fitness. I hate to admit it but I’m feeling my age (somewhere close to the mid thirties) and I have struggled to keep a steady fitness routine going. I fell off the workout wagon more times than I count this year and for several different reasons. I think one of the main reasons is that my fitness levels have changed a lot since having a baby and I’m older; my body is different and needs the right kind of support and exercise to get fit and I’m still figuring it out. I aim to be better about fitness in 2020 and stay committed to a routine, which is something I was not good about in 2019. But one thing that has improved a lot in 2019 is eating home-cooked healthy and nutritious meals as often as I can — and enjoying it! 

Family & Friends

I am so grateful to be living close to my family. I think my perspective on this has shifted drastically after having a kid. I said it last year and I’ll say it again: I am so happy Kiaan is growing up with his grandparents nearby and as a constant in his life. He’s growing up and developing his own relationships with each grandparent and it is the sweetest thing. I think the presence of a little child has brought my husband’s family and mine a lot closer and we’ve had some amazing family celebrations this past year. 

I wrote a blog post titled “No Woman Is An Island: Find Your Tribes, Love Them Hard” and it basically elaborates on my realisation about how every woman needs her girl tribes in different aspects of life. 2019 has truly been the year of nurturing my tribes and leaning in for support (aka a glass of wine!) when I needed it most. 

Travel 

I was looking back at 2018 and I realised I traveled with Kiaan — local road trips and flights included — every 6-8 weeks on average. Cut to 2019: we’ve been on two or three local road trips around Bangkok and two (very, very short haul) flights. And the reason for this dramatic change in averages: traveling with a toddler versus a baby is a whole different ball game. I came back from our holidays this year needing another holiday to just recover because traveling with a walking (read: running) and talking toddler — for whom sitting still is simply not possible — is fun but pretty exhausting. So Kiaan is on a “flight embargo” until further notice. 😉 

That being said, this summer my husband and I decided to go on child-less vacation to Europe (read more about Portugal & Barcelona here) with some friends and left Kiaan behind with his grandparents. And while I was very anxious about leaving him, I was also so thankful to have the chance to get a break from my mom life reality and have a carefree vacation and stay up past 11PM! It was definitely a highlight of 2019 for me and I hope once Kiaan is older I can show him some of my favourite corners of the world. 

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I think the focus of this past year for me has been introspection and self-growth. I was presented with a few moments situations that forced me to think more deeply about what I truly want to achieve in a personal and professional capacity and to work harder and with more focus towards my goals. 2019 also threw me lots of curveballs as a parent and some I managed to respond to with a hit while missing others completely. 

So here’s looking forward to 2020 — a new year and new decade — and all the curveballs it has in store for each and everyone of us. Here’s wishing you more hits than misses 🙂

Have a safe, happy and healthy new year!