Fast Away the Old Year Passes

I blinked and 2017 was gone.

It was a year of steady progress in some areas, and stalling in others.

It was a year of adjustment for my family, as we entered the school arena.  Suddenly we could no longer take holidays at any time during the year (bar seeding and harvest) - we were confined to term times, like many of our friends.  Rory's Kindy days were Tuesdays, Thursdays and every second Monday.  This made mid-week trips to Albany impossible. I attempted a few daytrips on Wednesdays and that was exhausting.

After a difficult start, the biggest little man did very well. His teacher was very no-nonsense and he seemed to adapt well to her approach. He did things for her that I could never get him to do. He started Kindy not able to hold a pencil properly.  Due to this, his arm would become tired while trying to write. I'd been trying to correct his grip for ages, but his teacher and the occupational therapist who visits the school corrected it within weeks. He has discovered that he CAN use scissors and that craft can actually be fun. But Rory is still very much a 'minimal effort' kinda guy in this area.  He'd much rather be running around outside or doing puzzles.

Dealing with his tiredness and resulting tantrums has been a challenge.  Term 1 was the most difficult, but it did get a bit easier as the year progressed. Still, I'm kind of dreading full-time pre-primary.

Rory's Kindy 'graduation'

One of the many Kindy creations - milk bottle top elephant

One of Rory's paintings. Apparently it's a picture of Daddy haha

This may seem strange, but my surgery was the highlight of my year. That (and actually reducing my anti-depressants) have made a huge difference in my depression. No longer have I been self-conscious going down the street. After I'd had the surgery, Duncan confessed that many people in town have been asking them if I was pregnant (he quickly set them straight).  This reinforced that I'd made the right decision to have the surgery.

Flynn and I at a Melbourne Cup lunch

The other highlight has been surviving seeding and harvest on my own, without needing house-help. I've had short visits from my mum, but other than that, I had a routine happening and I managed on my own (with God's help, of course). I think if harvest didn't fall around Christmastime it would be a LOT easier, as the added stress of the million end-of-year/Christmas events (which all seem to require you to bring a plate) get a bit much.

Flynn at the playgroup Christmas party

Sadly 2017 has seen the slow demise of this blog. I seem to have lost my passion.  Whereas once my head was bursting with ideas for posts, now I'm lacking both inspiration and motivation. By the end of the day, I'm so tired, I can't be bothered starting up the computer to write a post. Plus, I have taken on a small paid admin role for Flynn's daycare, so that has taken up some of my time. I think the fact that many other blogs I have enjoyed over the years have slowed considerably or stopped has been a factor in my own lack of enthusiasm.

What will 2018 hold? Well, it has already got off to a less than ideal start with the death of Solomon, but there are still 362 days left for it to be a good one.