A review of 2012

Another year has come to an end, another birthday has passed and I am now 36 and getting older by the second. Things could not be more different at the end of 2012 than I had expected. Life has not necessarily panned out the way I had planned. But with all the unexpected, or the stressful, comes great gain and precious lessons, if one is simply willing to learn from life.

I thought it would be worth sitting for a while and just thinking over the year. It should be a therapeutic exercise at least.  What am I grateful for? What have I learned? How have I grown? What can I change?

I'm going to start by writing a list of things that happened in 2012. Things that (good, bad, or just plain funny) made it a year worth living.... (in date order) ((There are links to photos where relevant))

• We adopted our newest member of the family ... Basil 
• I remembered the one year anniversary of the execution of my death row friend
• I organised a successful singer/songwriter gig night for charity which went really well and raised a respectable amount of money
• I managed to get 6 burly firemen to arrive at my house, sirens blaring, to save a child in distress, then fed them cake in my kitchen
• Several local newspapers wrote articles about my doula work and training
• I completed my doula training with Nurturing Birth and became one of the few qualified working doulas in NI.
• I had surgery on my poor broken nose and can now breath again
• The kids and I went on a fun and fabulous weekend break to Ballycastle and stayed in a mobile home, and had just the best time ever. 
• I made my doula website.
• I had my heart broken.
• I lost 2 stone and went down two dress sizes
• I had my first doula client
• Had a weekend away in Derry which resulted in the start of a great friendship
• Saw Gomez in concert and met the band members :)
• Saw Newton Faulkner & Imelda May in concert in Derry with some good friends.
• I trained and qualified as NI's very first placenta encapsulation specialist and set up my website
• The Irish Times did a 3 page article about my placenta work, and various other papers also wrote features, plus I was interviewed on countless radio stations. 
• I encapsulated my first placenta as a specialist :)
• I made another good friend in the town I live in who proved to be a goodun :)
• I went on a series of hilarious and hellish internet dates (and was asked out in tesco carpark by a mad man)
• The two little kids and I went on the best holiday ever! Yurting in Ireland. We had the best week of our lives and awesome sunshine too.
• Completed the first two parts of my antental course getting over 98% in every single assignment. Bit proud :)
• I saw Ministry in concert
• I was diagnosed with heamochromatosis 
• I finally got to see the Foo Fighters in concert! (And The Black Keys)
• My beautiful grandmother passed away and I travelled to England for her funeral with my eldest son.
• Took my older two kids on a holiday to Portugal where we had a lovely relaxing week! 
• My baby girl started her first day at nursery school.
• A good friend became an even better friend :)
• I saw Jack White in concert!
• I walked through  the streets of Belfast dressed as a sexy beer wench!
• Saw Newton Faulkner in both Belfast and Dublin and suffered the mortifying embarrassment of spelling his name wrong on our banner! (NOT MY FAULT!)
• I started belly casting
• I finally went on a first date that wasn't a complete waste of time and met a new fella :) 
• I cast three faces and six bellies
• Hosted a fun belly dancing and Moroccan food night at my house
• Saw Thin Lizzy in concert
• Got given two guitars!

So, all in all its been a good year. There have been some hard times and I've not listed them all. But no matter how painful a thing seems, it also brings positives with it. I feel stronger, more independent, wiser... I trust myself more. I am damn proud of myself for all that I have achieved this year with my work.  I am most grateful for the new and old friendships that have become stronger this year, and for the people who offered love and support when things were tough. It's been a year of serious giggles that culminated in a grand finale of me falling butt first into a bands set on my birthday. What a way to finish the year, eh. I am grateful for a year of good health for both myself and my babies. They are all growing into beautiful young people who I know will make me proud.