Another New Year Beckons

I can't tell you how glad I was to see the back of 2007. A year that for me was punctuated with enormous sadness and loss, amongst some of the most amazing highs of my life.

A year that was a complete contradiction.

I won't go over the year month by month, but I will give some thoughts on it now that it is over.

I loved that I travelled overseas again in 2007.

Although China was never on my hit list, I did enjoy the experience and I often fondly remember parts of that trip - the pyrotechnics in Beijing for Chinese New Year; walking The Great Wall at Simitai; having complete sensory overload the first time I was out and about in Shanghai; my unbridled joy at seeing Michael for the first time in months.

Phuket in May was a wonderful holiday. My perfect beach holiday. Fabulous weather, exceptional company in Richard, great resort and friendly Thai people. I had a ball. It was just what I needed after the torturous months that preceded it. My relationship with Michael was breaking down or broken even, and I was burnt out from work. All Rich and I seemed to do was eat, drink, swim and lay in the sun. Just heaven.

I flirted all year with the idea of starting my own Tupperware business and despite gently prods from Portia, I managed to resist until late September when I finally gave in and said YES! It's turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. Apart from the fact that I could sell ice to Eskimo's so plasticware is a bloody cinch for me, I've gained a whole lot of stuff that I didn't realise was missing. I love the team support, the recognition for achievements and the interaction with lots of people. I've gained confidence in meeting new people and in general I feel much more involved with life again, rather than just doing my same old stuff week in week out. Not to mention that the money is fantastic and my kitchen has never been more organised! Since starting I've been the top demonstrator for November, topped a special week and got to meet the Managing Director of Tupperware, came second in Record Breaker Week and I've won or earned a host of fabulous prizes and Tupperware. I used to roll my eyes and laugh at Portia when he said that Tupperware had changed his life, but now I think the same thing.

It's been an interesting year for some of my friendships. Some have fallen by the wayside, some have petered out, some have taken off and some new folk have emerged as friends. I think that with some of the events, stresses and experiences that I've gone through this past year it's fair to say that some of the friendships have been burdened with needs that some couldn't meet, some were just due to wind down anyway and some perhaps were always destined to take off once a more common ground was forged. I try not to give too much thought about such matters, instead I tend to believe that friendships are cyclical and often based on mutual needs. That they can grow and die and fall apart and be put back together again. That they are malleable, changeable and evolving. I am grateful for all my friends and although some fall in and out of favour, as I seem to with them, I know that this may not be the end of them, in fact, it may only be the beginning. You need to let some things go to appreciate their value, or vice versa, or indeed to allow the others to see what you really gave to them.

As the year drew to a close, when life was literally pulling me in a million directions all at once, a good friend decided that the time was right for them to leave us. It was a sobering experience that drew me closer to the ones that I adore and cherish. It made me appreciate the frailty of life and the wonderment that is this life I lead. Whether good bad or oftentimes ugly, it's life and when my friend chose to end his, it only reaffirmed mine. Although I have enormous respect for his decision, I'm still sad that he's not with us, to share in this amazing life. He wass a truly wonderful man, a gently soul with enormous capacity to make you feel special and appreciated. He had a wickedly dark sense of humour, a michievous slant on the world. I think of him nearly every day. I hope that never changes.

I've made some resolutions for the year ahead, if only to act as signposts for what I'd like to achieve. I never used to be big on them, however a few years ago (7 in fact, sheesh) in a time of real despair whilst in the midst of significant change intense personal scrutiny and accountability, I made a list that became a blueprint for change, growth, success and even failure. I was amazed that as that year ended, I'd actually made enormous progress. No, I didn't achieve all that I set out to. In fact, some things I'd only just begun to scratch the surface of let alone really sinking my teeth into. And whilst I didn't feel like it before I revisited that list late in the year, by reviewing the list I'd written out months before, I was able to properly assess what sort of year I'd had, away from biases and emotions. This was black and white, this was the truth. Since then, I've really been a big fan of these yearly lists and it's really quite comforting to have something to review as the year progresses to track the changes and to see where I'm at with it all.

Anyways, this post has ended up being longer than I intended, thanks if you've read all of it. I hope its not too much drivel :P

Dxx