Mid-year updates

God! I don’t know how this year has flown so quickly. I used to do bi-monthly or monthly updates, but this year has been so fast-paced that I haven’t kept up.

I spent the first few months of 2024 in a depressive funk after my dad passed away last December. I did the bare minimum and spent all my time in a daze. Fortunately, or unfortunately, life was so hectic that I had to pull myself out of my funk and focus on my kids. Snubnose went through a milestone year, completing Grade XII with honors! She got 100% in one of her subjects (the most difficult) and high 90s in the rest. I am so proud of her.

Then it came time for college entrance exams—most of which she aced. Sadly, she did not ace the entrance test for the one college she wanted to get into. But it’s okay. She got into her second-choice college, which was probably the best choice for her.

She will be moving out of the home next week, though. I will be traveling with her to settle her into college and her hostel and make sure she’s all set for what is likely to be an exciting and tumultuous experience.

She also turned 18 this February, and we were all busy getting her her bank account, UPI, etc – all adult things she will need when she leaves home.

Piglet has been moping around the house a bit this summer. What with the water shortage (causing the swimming pool to close), his best friend off to Abu Dhabi for the summer, and all our attention on Snubnose, he’s been feeling a bit left out.

However, as soon as her college admissions were sorted, we focused on spending time as a family—playing board games (Codenames and Sequence are new favorites) late into the night, having many movie nights, and generally chilling out.

One good thing about him feeling a bit left out is that he turned into a reader—something I had almost given up on. He’s been reading all his sister’s old Roald Dahl and Geronimo Stilton books and is now getting into Tintin. We recently went to Blossoms Book House – our favorite new and pre-loved book store and updated our book collection. We sold off his old Magic Tree House book set that he lost interest in after just a few books) and some of Snubnose’s cheesy romances and, in turn, got all this. I love that we can sell off old books we no longer need and use the cash back on other books – a boon, especially for children who outgrow childhood favorites so fast.

Apart from books, Piglet has also increased his focus on karate this year. He joined a class last fall, but he’s become proficient in the last 3-4 months, attending and winning competitions. Unlike his other sports (horse riding, which scared him too much after a point, and swimming, which he hasn’t been able to do in the last couple of years due to Covid and water shortages), it seems like karate will stick 🤞. He’s now earnestly preparing for his green belt exam, indicating he’s now ready for the intermediate levels.

Piglet also got super-independent and serious about his studies this year. I am a little surprised and sad to be losing my baby Piglet, but also impressed and curious to see how he’s changing – navigating from being a kid to a tween.

I have also been super busy this year. I had multiple travels – one for checking out potential colleges for Snubnose, another for spending time with my mom in Chennai, and another for a fantastic work trip to the USA. My colleague and I traveled to our head offices in San Francisco and San Jose. Work was the focal point, but we also enjoyed a wonderful weekend in Yosemite, some sightseeing in San Francisco (most of them places I had visited before), but still fun. A highlight was whale watching, which I had never done before.

One bummer was not getting to see the Northern Lights that was ongoing at that time 😔. It seemed to be dodging us however much we tried to catch a glimpse of them.

Then a short trip to Goa (Piglet’s first time there), and then a trip to drop off Snubnose in college. I love to travel, but it’s been a bit too much this year!

To recoup from all this travel, I have been doing a lot of Netflix – watched Crew (fun! fun! fun!), finished binge-watching the third season of Bridgerton (got Snubnose obsessed with it as well), and Monk – seriously in love with Tony Shalhoub, and will probably watch everything he stars in.

Sadly, my brain hasn’t been able to get into books this year. I spent a few months quite numb after Dad’s death and have just not been able to focus hard on anything bookish. I haven’t been forcing it, either. I know I will eventually get back my reading mojo.

So, that’s been our first six months of 2024—action-packed and fun on the outside but quite depressed and lethargic on the inside. So many good things happened, but I wish Dad was around for it. He would have been so impressed with Snubnose’s academic performance, and as an avid reader himself, he would have loved seeing Piglet get into his books.

How has 2024 treated you so far?