2010 has been an utterly crazy and life-changing year.
Of course, Annika was born right before 2010 started, so it started off fairly eventfully. Then in February I went to India for a week for my cousin’s wedding, having to leave Annika and Jyotsna for 8 long days (made longer by the Snowpocalypse, luckily not being stuck in Paris.) The traveling didn’t stop with just me, however – the three of us went to New Orleans in May, Florida in June, and California in September. Plus we made a few trips up north to my parents house and Jai and Sush’s, to see family and to meet the twins, as well as for Dimple’s wedding and Diwali. More than a few, since I can’t seem to count how many.
On top of that, we found and bought a new house (after spending a month pursuing a short sale). We moved last month, then prepped our old house to rent, and then hosted our combined families (20+ people?) last weekend for Christmas as well as Annika’s birthday. (Oh yes, we threw that too, primarily family). And now we’re in Florida for New years.
And on top of all that? We found out that Jyotsna is pregnant again and we’re expecting our second child in May.
Yes, we’re slightly crazy. But I wouldnt have it any other way, to be frank. We’re both slightly off-kilter, so it’s no surprise that our lives are full of craziness. But it’s a good kind of crazy. Lots of loved ones, with not enough time to see and be with all the people that we want. And Jyotsna and I really have found a stride and rhythm with our marriage (through teamwork and a common challenge!) , which makes me love her all the more. It’s been a mostly excellent year, but with plenty of challenges. We’re damn lucky, we know that. Even the downtimes this year have been relatively minor in comparison with the highs. Not every year will be so fortuitous, I know.
We haven’t had the chance to “enjoy” (Jyotsna might quibble with that word choice) this pregnancy nearly as much as we did the first time around. We frankly run out of time and energy – most days don’t end until after dinner which is at 8 or 9, and then Jyotsna is going to sleep and I’m back to the office to try to catch up. Honestly, we both forget at times. Come May 2011, we won’t have that particularly luxury. 🙂
I’m hoping that 2011 will be slightly less insane, with a little more routine packed into it. We’ve already pledged that our traveling will be curtailed somewhat – traveling with two is exponentially harder than doing so with one. Plus Jyotsna will have unpaid maternity leave, so we won’t have the time off that we would have otherwise. Professionally I had a decent year, especially considering the luxury that I have with flexible time to spend as much time as I do with Annika. It’s a tough thing to tackle mentally, since at any one time I might have one or two months of work “booked” with my clients, but I’ve been doing it for almost 5 years. In fact, I got an email from my client in Louisiana talking about a big project that they want me to have some leadership on. It’ll become more clear in the first quarter, but if it’s as big as I think it could cover me for the entire year and then some. I wouldn’t necessarily want that since I have other clients to cover and a few entrepreneurial opportunities that I want to devote some energy on. But you know what they say about that bird and the hand and the bush.
So I’m going to miss you 2010. My only regret for this past year is not having the time to spend with those friends that matter most. I’m hoping that at least the first part of 2011 is calmer and more routine, although we have a little bomb coming in May that’ll splatter any planning that we do.