I thought it was about time to do a quick review of this past year. Let's just say, it's been bloomin' mental! Since January last year, I've changed my job, my car, bought a dog, got hold of a replacement fiddle, and and am now considering buying a different car as the Ibiza is simply not big enough for Sasha, the big fluff ball I got. She's nearly 8 months old but she's already bigger than Glennie ever was. Oh, we lost him too. That was a very sad day :( But there is now Sash in our lives and what a character she is. A dog with a sense of humour is never a good thing, and she has bags of that. She's hilarious, has a very cheeky grin and treats everything as a game, including when we give her into trouble for eating things she's not meant to, like egg boxes, tights, pyjamas, shoes, socks, shirts, towels, sponges, hoover filters, the list is endless........
But we love her. It's just a shame the house and car aren't big enough for her now. The beast is going to cost me a fortune one way or another. But thankfully (although, not happily) I have received part of my inheritance from Ian's estate. It's of a substantial value and I'm incredibly grateful for it, but we'd all rather have him back. But since things like that can't be changed, this is the next best thing for me. Not that I'm a gold digger, I just need money to be able to live. I have a mortgage, you know.
I suppose, since it's nearly Christmas, it's about time I did a review of the year. So much has happened since January, and I'm still trying to make sense of it all. I've completely changed as a person, and changed for the better, I hope! I'm more independent, I'm much more confident and I'm happier in myself. Although, I've put on a lot of weight, which has a limited time to disappear. I'll explain more about why in another post sometime. But let's just say next year is going to be so stressful but exciting!!
So, January met me with 8 paws. I rescued two kittens on Christmas Day 2011 and they were still settling in during the new year. By February, I was becoming very unhappy with my job. I wasn't being paid enough for everything I was doing, I was being taken advantage of, I was being put down for the knowledge I possessed about horses and I just felt rubbish. March brought more stress on my job and relationship but things were going to get better by the end of April. I found another job, applied, got it and then told my boss that I was moving on to pastures new and was excited about my new venture. I still think about the place, but then again, I think about a lot of things. In May, things were about to get interesting. I bought the new car - a 2010 Seat Ibiza - which was great until the end of June, when I bought Sasha, our Malamute puppy. She brought a spark to the house! She also chewed through everything in sight but oh well. There's not much we can really do about that now, is there...
At the end of July, I went to the Dufftown Games, letting Sasha meet everyone possible, allowing her to experience crowds for the first time. She was quite good after a few hours but she was just so hyper and exuberant that she nearly had me and my aunt pulled over... And she was only 10 weeks then. What fun we have coming up!
By the end of August, it was time for the festivals again so we headed to Kirrie in September, had a few drinks, I won competitions (I have no idea how I did it) and then we went home to rescue David from the Sasha monster. October brought revelations. After going to Shetland, teasing committee members about guesting and just having a really good time despite being ill, the rest of our holidays disappeared in a flash which meant Glenfiddich was just around the corner.
I felt that I played the best I possibly could, I was ready and really enjoyed it. But I wasn't placed. And you know what? I still walked out with a huge smile on my face, because I made the audience happy, which is what really matters to me. I'd rather make them smile than the adjudicators.
And then the stress kicked in. It was time to plan our Young Carers Christmas Party. The less said about the organising part, the better. I've hardly slept yet and I'm just so tired, although relieved it's over. I digress. By the end of November, Sasha could no longer fit in my car, I was racing across the shire, facilitating groups to around 80 young carers collectively and just generally being a dogs-body. However, come the Christmas Party, I pulled off the most incredible night, made a lot of young people very happy, pulled in every contact I had and made sure things were done the best we could do them. It was a massive success, and I may well have opened important eyes to what we're doing as an organisation. And booked a venue for something next year for myself...
And now, here we are. 5 days from Christmas, I'm planning the meal for Christmas Day, pondering a car I've seen and deciding whether I want to change right now (which I may well have to) and whether I'm on the right path. And you know what? For the first time in a long time, I think I am. I really believe I'm in the right place at the right time, on the right path, doing the right things, letting my heart rule everything because I know it's leading me the right way. Things are simply falling into place, and that always happens for a reason. It doesn't normally, but when you're doing things right, things will always work out.
So there you have it - 2012 in a nutshell! I've met some amazing people, I've come a long way in my development, I'm realising a lot about myself and I'm really happy. Ok, there may be rough patches along the way, but that's all part of the learning curve. After all, what's the point in life if we stop learning?
