And what a ride it has been! I don’t know if any year so far has been as massive an upheaval in my life. Sure, the year I got married and the years my children were born were landmark years. 2023 was memorable in how absolutely horrible it was – with K surviving a cancer scare and my father suddenly passing away.
However, I was comfortably settled into life, thinking this was it – a good life, a comfortable life, but nothing was really going to change. We were in our forever home, with all loans fully paid off. I was comfortable in my career – in effect, I was coasting. I told myself this sense of surety was the reward for a lifetime of hard work.
And then things suddenly went topsy-turvy – a chance remark, an off-the-cuff statement, changed our trajectory completely, and here we are, nearing fifty and in the case of K, sixty, moving countries, homes, and careers, never thinking this would happen.
This has been a year of learning, of fighting to prove myself in an increasingly stressful corporate environment – competing with AI, fighting against peri menopause, and trying to adjust to the deep sense of loneliness you get when you move to a new country. It’s also been a great year, watching the kids’ ambitions and worldview grow beyond Bangalore, as we’ve shown them around London; it’s K’s first time in Europe as well. So travel-wise, it’s been a wonderful year. Even if everything falls to pieces later on, we will all remember this year fondly, and this opportunity to live here and experience a new way of seeing the world around us.
The kids are fine. Snubnose has eased into university life seamlessly, has made tons of friends, and is thriving. Piglet is starting to catch up with the academics (who said studies in the UK were easier than in India? Maybe in primary, but definitely not in high school) and beginning to build some friendships. He’s having a rougher time of it, just because of the diversity in school that’s way more than he’s used to. Still, both are doing ok.
K and I have also started making friends, but we are realizing how much more intentional we need to be with friendships and generally work to find connections. It’s a process.
In the meantime, we have also made one additional move – from London to the north. Since Snubnose’s university is nearby, and since I can work from home, it made sense to move to a quieter, less expensive place to make our money go further. Surprisingly, everyone likes it here; it is quiet, but we can do so much more now that we are not spending quite as much on the basics – transport and rent. But at the same time, our lives have become quieter, restful, and more grounded, and I like it. I have learnt to treasure the clear skies and the air we breathe in, my long, lovely walks in the park with my favorite podcast, and long chats with friends.
I am not sure if my life has evolved the way I imagined it would when my move was first planned, but it’s something I am enjoying. I can sense that we are all evolving and growing into different people, and it’s interesting to see where we eventually end up.
That said, there have been a couple of rough spots.
AI has been a boon and a bane
I think that’s the case for most everyone in corporate, but for my job role especially, it’s been a bit of a double-edged sword. I don’t know where we are going, but the amount of automation and LLM-first work I am rolling out is somewhat concerning. The more I see these developments, the gladder I am that I am in this space in my career, and not a fresher starting out looking for a job. Most of the lower-level jobs are being automated at a speed I didn’t anticipate. I am not even sure of my career direction at this point.
My health has sucked
I have had fibromyalgia for years now, have learnt to live with pain, and work with pain for almost 10 years. I had developed ways to manage it in India – twice-monthly deep tissue massages from Urban Company, twice-weekly yoga sessions to maintain mobility, long runs, and free physiotherapy services offered by my company. Here, all these support systems collapsed, and the pain levels shot up. I also developed a frozen shoulder, and it’s unbelievable how painful it can be. The NHS, while great overall, isn’t very supportive when it comes to vague aches and pains that are hard to diagnose. To be fair, the same situation existed in India as well. That’s why I had developed this elaborate routine to maintain myself.
In the UK, I haven’t been able to run much as I live in a very hilly area, and running is too hard on my already inflamed joints. So, I walk, but it’s just not enough to keep the peri weight gain from creeping up, and I am at this weird stage where I no longer gaf. I have moved on to baggy sweaters and leggings, and shapeless dresses. Towards the end of last year, I found a good physio, and I see some improvements. With the new year, I have plans to work with basic weights and possibly find a reasonably priced Pilates instructor to help improve my mobility. Let’s see how it goes. Anything would be an improvement over my current state of pain and stiffness. And oh yes, in desperation, I also started HRT, which so far doesn’t seem to have done anything.
And that’s been my 2025! It’s been amazing seeing my kids adapt and love this country. I honestly didn’t think we would all love it so much – the people, the places, the beauty surrounding us! Now if only I could fix my work and health issues.
