A long December, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last...

2008 still a blur of sleep deprivation, but started well with Susan's party, Ultimate (frisbee) and Yum Cha with the fabulous happy-heavenly-dirty-lucky creatures, a New Year's Day bbq that couldn't be beat, feeling-part-of-a-community-and-like myself-again (for the 1st time in a long time) and several days of wonderful weather... Wellington at its blue-sky, home-town best.


'Home' in Palmy since Sunday, to childcare chaos (thank goodness Turitea re-opens on Monday) and no hot water (fixed now), weather ranging from humid, grey and showery to torrential monsoon, and gut-wrenching loneliness that is slowly being eroded to mild homesickness by the day-to-day camaradie of work (how do at home single parents survive?).

Best decision of 2007

Realising I would be a happier person and a better parent alone and that I would be unable to cope with a new baby, J and N and arranging for N to leave

Greatest Challenge of 2007

Parenting a new baby and a toddler without a partner

Happiest event of 2007

The birth of our wee T on 12 July

Biggest (though not only) thankyous for 2007

1. My wonderful parents, who came from Wellington to stay with me for several days when N left and then for a whole month around the time T's birth, looked after me and J and helped me set up systems to cope with parenting alone, then had us to stay for a further 10 days soon after
   
2. The lovely Ruth, who listened patiently to my whinging almost every day for about 6 months, had N to stay for 9 fraught weeks after I kicked him out, and who came to stay for over a week when I went back to work at the end of my maternity leave and, among other useful things, helped me pack up N's stuff, a job I was dreading!


3. My amazing midwife, who was supportive far beyond the call of duty and who even lent me her digital camera for a month so I could take lots of photos of my wee darlings (I finally bought one on Monday, so expect many pics!)


4. My workmate T, who was the 1st person to say I should kick N out, who was hugely supportive throughout and who I have to admit, is usually right.

Resolutions for 2008

1. To find a new way to enjoy raisins every week


2. To live in the moment, work hard and be the best I can be as a scientist and as a parent, but not to let home stresses affect my efficiency at work or vice versa
   
3. Not to lose my temper unless it is really warranted and even so, to think before I speak or act
   
4. To treat this year as my last ditch attempt to make it as a scientist, but to start seriously researching my other options. If by October when my current funding runs out (or maybe a bit before if that is where things are heading) my work is still unpublishable and my contract still tenuous I will cut my losses and find a 'real' job and a fab childcare arrangement in Wellington.


5. Not to spend longer than 5 minutes at a time beating myself up about 'slippage' (a lovely word from our milestone forms) in these and other goals ;-)

Happy New Year everyone! Lunchtime is long since over so I better get on with it.