Happy New Year 2020

The 2010’s has been for me, a decade of rearing my children:

Of little sleep, of running after them as toddlers, of driving them to and from school, of negotiating homework and activities.

It marks a full decade living in Asia, from the New Years celebrations in Hong Kong after the birth of our babies, then back to Chengdu, and then on to our little island of Koh Samui.

2020 marks 2 decades of our couple, our partnership growing in depth and understanding, one that trusts that love is at the core of it all. Both of us developing our own independence all the while knowing we have each other to lean on.

We’ve been challenged by my mental health instabilities, by Maher’s second stroke, by some mistakes with friendships, and the transition of moving from managing babies and little kids to what seem to be more independent ones.

The interesting work with the children is just beginning – the discussions, the possible challenges of the years leading to more boundary pushing, to rebellion, girlfriends and boyfriends, and experimenting.

We’ve visited many beautiful places in the world, spent memorable times with family and friends, and developed a home and meaningful friendships in Thailand.

The next decade is going to focus on keeping our health both physical and mental in balance, that of ours as we age, and of our children’s mental and emotional well-being as they dive deeper into the internet, gaming, videos, and virtual worlds we live in.

There will be focus on our couple, and on us as individuals pursuing our own projects and health goals.

There will be travel and discovery of new lands and people near and far.

There will be the magic of delving into stories, of writing, dancing, the focus of creating, the joy and pride in seeing our sports complex grow, function, and flourish.

There will be more alone time for us as a couple, and as a family, escapes, adventures, more personal successes and certainly some failures too.

And whether or not any of the above happens there will be be madness, dreams, surprise, and love.

And I wish the same for you.