Highs and Lows of 2002

[batey]

As this year is rapidly drawing to and end, can't believe it's Dec on Sunday, thought I'd start this thread as I always get nostalgic. I know some of you have had real tragedies this year but also many have had great joys, and I thought it might be good to look with hindsight to 2002 and with hope to 2003.

So I'll get the ball rolling.......well, the first half of 2002 was filled with illnesses in our house,dd2 and I both got Meningismus (non life threatening strain of Meningitis,that hurt like buggery), dh was hell to live with as he was giving up smoking and I was caring for my Mum who was badly depressed and having regualar panic attacks. So not the best first half of the year. But summer arrived and life improved, dh calmed down, my Mum got the treatment she needed and all our healths improved. Dd1 started school and I am sooo proud of how she's adjusted to it all, dd2 is more determined than ever to take full control of her life!! But is (mostly!) a joy to be with,oh how I love 2 yr olds!! And her sleeping has improved,another major struggle this year. And me, well for 2003 I think I want to make some more time for me! And I can't wait to watch my dds grow and change and develop.

Hope somone responds or I'll feel a right plonker!?

What a great thread, if you're a plonker I am too

Highs of 2002: Dp asking me to marry him. Ds becoming even more wonderful and fantastic, fascinating company at 5 yo. Getting some writing accepted. Getting a job that is part time and from home and for a boss I like. Spending some truly great times with friends and family. Finding mumsnet (sad I know, but has made me feel less isolated living in the sticks).

Lows: anniversary of my dad's death in May. Still smoking and beating myself up about it. ds' demonic bad behaviour at times. My relationship with my mum and stepdad.

Glad the first is a longer list.

batey, my main high is that I can see properly again - since late 2000 my eyesight had been gradually deteriorating, due to acute astigmatism on top of acute short sight - this summer I had my lenses replaced (like cataract surgery) and can now see for miles but, even better, can safely drive, and can recognise my children in the street.

Bad news - my dad died in February. But he was 81 and went quickly and quite peacefully. You can't have everything.

Next year - MUST spend less time on the internet and more time organising our lives!

Janh, that must be just wonderful (the improvement in your sight I mean).

Batey, any excuse to try and balance the scales of life is a good one in my view. At the moment 2002 for me has been completed dominated by losing my unborn son at the end of August, but it has also been a year in which ds1 drew his first real picture of us as a family, he has become even better company and more fun to be with, and dh has been given two book commissions and a corking pay rise. And great things have happened to friends too - babies out of the blue after years of trying, cleaner bagging a corporate lawyer fiance, etc.

Highs. My eldest son marrying a gorgeous young woman. Second son being on course to get a First in his degree. Both dd's getting fantastic school reports. Dd1 holding down a job in a Chinese restaurant. Dd2 learning to swim. Winning the battle against the politicians and saving our village school. Learning that my nephew will be a daddy in the New Year. Dh being posted abroad so we have the chance to experience another culture. Lots more, too, really.

Lows. Being apart from dh for 3 mths while he started his new job. Having a bacterial gut infection - yuk. "Another culture" turning out to mean living with the knowledge we are No1 targets for terrorism and that my dd's go to school surrounded by armed police and commandoes with automatic weapons. My childhood 'uncle' passing away. The rabbit dying.

Great idea for a thread, batey!
Highs first of all: succesfully passing Post-Graduate Diploma course (Graduation was last Saturday) and therefore getting through probation period at work (pay rise will arrive in December's pay); ds starting school and, miracle of miracles, actually liking it; dh saying he was finally going to stop smoking and like you www finding mumsnet.
Lows - my gran dying, my fil being diagnosed with cancer and dh failing in his attempt to stop smoking after four v. bad-tempered days.

message withdrawn

Marina, it is! You know they make those posters about`"only having one pair of eyes, don't take them for granted"? Very true!

Lows: discovering I had obstetric colestasis and spending 4 weeks worrying about losing dd

Highs: Delivering dd safely - that's it, everything else pales into insignificance

Highs: escaping horrid stressful office life & even worse commuting for the freedom of freelancing at home and getting lots of work. Ds being generally fabulous and wonderful and sleeping through at last (& walking and saying mama which are both quite new).
Lows: Not having saved anything for my tax bill and not being able to sleep for the worry of it. Not losing any weight.

Next year? being healthier and thinner, saving money for my tax bill, maybe another baby.

Doh,thanks for responding guys. Glad to know I'm not the only plonker out there WWW!

Cool thread batey.

Highs : seeing DS grow into happy tearaway toddler after 1st 5 months of colic/weight-loss/sleepless nights etc ; finally getting my Mum the operation she needed abroad ; like SueDonim discovering New Culture after DH posted abroad and finding Mumsnet to keep in touch with home.

Lows : January when DS especially poorly. March when trying to get Mum her op. September when first trying to adapt to New Culture. Its great to see that all my lows have made it to the Highs list.

NYRs : drink NO MORE THAN 2 coffees a day; drink NO MORE THAN 2 glasses of wine a day; spend LESS THAN 2 hours a day on the Internet and DO SOMETHING about the 'Baby Belly', the 'Thumper Thighs' and the 'Big A**e' :-)

Hope you all have a fantastic 2003!

Nice one batey!

Highs: dd2 born in record time, with no intervention; finding out that dd2 is an angel baby who is as easy as pie; dd1 starting at nursery and loving it; dp's business starting to improve; my freelance work picking up; a friend with PCOS finally getting pregnant; nice people with kids moving into our village; close friends leaving London and moving nearby.

Lows: Feeling depressed at the beginning of the year after a miscarriage; the terror that I would lose dd2 in the first 3 months of pregnancy; realising I'd lose most of my hard-won clients as I was about to have a baby; dd2's mad toddler behaviour; how old I look now I have two children!

Like it Batey ...

Highs: DH being offered a great job opportunity in NZ; moving to NZ; DS saying 'I love you mummy' for the first time; buying our lovely house here; being able to give up work and be a SAHM; starting a writer's course and finding out that I am quite good at it; finding out I was pregnant ...

Lows: Saying goodbye to my parents at Heathrow when I left the UK; massive homesickness; missing my parents and my sister; missing the birth of my niece (sisters first baby) and not being there for my sister; missing my best friend's wedding; losing my baby at 12 weeks...

Next year: a baby please ...

Forgot to mention another 'high' ... finding mumsnet and making loads of lovely new friends here!

Highs - DH in process of receiving a promotion; DS moving into toddler room at nursery and loving it; DS being absolutely brilliant and learning to walk and talk and make me laugh; DS laughing with the joy of being alive when I go to wake him up in the morning (can't get DH to adapt this habit ); befriending new neighbour with a DS same age as my DS; achieving my target weight; my baby sister getting engaged.

Lows - DS developing a pyodermic granuloma on his face which kept bleeding copiously, the associated trips to A&E and the op 2 days before his birthday which left him with black eyes and a huge dressing on all his first birthday photos (but he was so brave about it); my Grandad having a stroke; current job uncertainty with c. 10% to go; no payrise for 18 months and still counting.

Next year I would like to be a bridesmaid for my sister (don't worry she has asked me) and then persuade DH that he really can cope with another baby...

highs: dd becoming even more fun & a great conversationist; getting pregnant with our second child and scary tests turning out to be clear; the company of good friends - including those on Mumsnet!; my best friend from school getting married after 21 years together!

lows: breaking another tooth & skin getting more wrinkly - old age, yuk!; not managing to lose a stone or two..; thinking (for about 2minutes) that I'd lost dd in a soft-play centre..truly the most terror I've ever felt.

next year: a healthy baby in April, please and a little bit of sleep

Highs: moving house from my personal hell to my personal heaven. Seeing ds2 who has cp commando crawl for the 1st time.

Lows: Finding out ds2 had either cp or a progressive form of spastic diplegia, and still waiting to find out which it is.

Lows: My sister, aged 27, being diagnosed with advanced stage, aggressive cancer. Going back to work with the same old crap..expected to do more in less time.

Highs: Going back to work after going cross eyed with boredom during maternity leave. Watching the developing relationship between Dh and dd after he quit work to take up full time parenting.

Lows: being 4 stone (hell, that's a lot!)overweight. Trying to work full-time and keep house tidy etc (failing miserably there at the moment). Living with knowledge that dad has cancer.

Highs: birth of DD2 and she's so lovely! Having a VBAC because she decided to make a very speedy entry into the world. Seeing DD1 develop into a beautiful toddler and watching her cover the baby in kisses. Dad responding well to treatment. Work agreeing to me going part-time.

Resolutions: lose 4 stone, tidy the house, eat healthily, enjoy time with my lovely family.

highs: finding out I'm expecting my 4th and FINAL child.

Lows: moving and going into more debt this year then last year. Cant seem to ever get out of this hole.

congratulations three-soon-to-be-four-angels!

Congrats from me too. Is this your first announcement Threeangels or have I missed it elsewhere?

WWW and Bozza - Thank you. I actually only brought it up during a conversation on one of the other thread topics.

I think I will have to change my name too soon.