End of Year Review 2006

If you had asked me this time last year what I’d be doing this time this year, I’d not have said updating my blog before heading out geocaching for the afternoon, after a morning at the spa having a relaxing body treatment.

Two of those words didn’t even exist in my vocabulary (blog, geocaching), and the third (spa) was known but unheard of, if that makes sense!

So what happened to make it all so different?

The funny thing is, although this blog was borne out of the frustration of the circumstances I unwittingly found myself in, I have never actually said how I came to find myself there in the first place! Suffice to say that at the start of the year a number of difficult situations at work (that had been on-going for quite some time) finally boiled over and the resultant effect was that my brain literally went into ‘meltdown’! I was unable to function on any level initially, and the frustrations of this eventually lead to depression.

To cut a very long story short, in May of 2006, after 4 months off work and much soul searching, it resulted in me resigning from my job of 17 years and taking a leap of faith into the unknown.

So now the scene has been set, what about 2006?

Things I have learnt in 2006:

Friends

If you ever need to sort out who is a real friend, then have a major life incident! I have been blessed with many very good and faithful friends.

Faith

When you hit rock bottom, and you need someone to take control because you can’t anymore, ask God. I don’t often wear my spiritual heart on my sleeve, but I would gladly preach a sermon on the ‘Parable of the Stolen Mini Convertible’, a time when God worked in my life in the most amazing, extraordinary and totally downright unbelievable way!

Thermal underwear

It might not be pretty, but it does its job :-)

Things to take into 2007:

Geocaching

My sport of choice ;-) Current total of caches found stands at 48, including several International caches (the South of Ireland counts as International in this regard!) with our furthest away cache being in Dubai, even though we didn’t actually manage to put our hands on it.

We also have four travel bugs circulating the globe, two currently in the South of England, and one recently arrived in New Zealand’s North Island! More info on the bugs here

Blogging

You can’t buy this kind of therapy :-)

Trips to the library

But could Val McDermid please write some more books as I have currently read all that are available

Walking

Every list has a surprise entry, and this is mine. I am particularly looking forward to walking now that Tesco have built a new hypermarket complete with café serving full Irish breakfasts at virtually the end of my street ;-)

Spa treatments

So long as someone else is paying. It doesn’t seem so indulgent that way, which is far more relaxing!

Things to leave behind in 2006:

Gardening

It was a good distraction when one was needed, but I’m afraid the old adage ‘Bugger the Garden, I’m watching the Rugby’ comes back into play now that my brain can make it’s own decisions again

Regrets

I’ve had a few, but then again – too few to mention. Suffice to say, giving up my job of 17 years has not been one of them!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and sane 2007!