Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023

As we say goodbye 2022 and hello to 2023, I thought we would round up our year and share where we have been at and how the year has been for us.

2022 seems to have had two modes, for us. A rollercoaster we can’t get off and wading through quicksand whilst juggling cacti.

January saw us recovering from covid that we’d had in the previous year. I was still tired and had what we thought was long covid probably combined with menopause symptoms. Not a lot of fun. 

The teen also had an accident at school and managed to break her foot. It was initially diagnosed as a bad sprain but after a few days and a physiotherapist appointment we realised it was more serious than that and she needed a scan, a pressure boot and crutches for 8 weeks. So that was not a good start to the year. 

February brought us the devastating news that Layla, our precious old grumpy cat that was a fundamental feature in starting the blog, had oral cancer and that she wasn’t going to recover. We came home, with a plan to help her eat, keep her as pain free as possible and help her manage til the time came when she wasn’t well enough for a good quality of life. 

March was mostly looking after Layla, ballet exams for the boy and physio and rehabilitation for the teen, and her foot. 

April came and we sadly had to make the hard decision that our much needed holiday to France would go ahead, without me. The husband took the children and they spent two weeks at Eco Gites Lenault, whilst I stayed home to nurse Layla who wasn’t well enough to be left, and I would never had forgiven myself if she’d died when I wasn’t with her. My dad and his partner came to stay with me, (the original plan had been they would be house and cat sitting) and their support in those two weeks kept me sane. 

The children and husband returned from France and we made the very painful choice to let Layla go, at the end of April. She died in my arms at our vets. She was almost 17. We miss her daily. 

The husband and I managed a night away at a hotel in late April, which was a gentle highlight, thanks to my dad being in charge at home for a night. We also celebrated kiddo turning 12. 

May arrived and we were still broken hearted at the loss of Layla, and missing my Dad, who had returned to Thailand. We celebrated the husband being a year older but still not looking as old as me. (He is older but clearly has a better skincare routine than mine) 

At the end of May, we decided to foster to adopt a kitten. Tabitha was born the day after Layla died and it seemed almost meant to be that she would come into our lives. 

June saw the homecoming of Tabitha and learning to live with a tiny kitten in the house again. It’s been a little chaotic but she’s made us smile again and kept us distracted from our grief.

July and August were our summer break. We didn’t go away, but did enjoy lots of activities locally and slightly further afield with beach trips, trips to London and doing things like fruit picking.

September was back to school, and year 8 at home for kiddo and year 11 and GSCE’s incoming for the teen.

October was a challenging month. Unfortunately we all came down with Covid, again, just one year shy of having it the first time round. Thankfully the combination of our immune systems and being vaccinated seems to have done the job and we recovered faster and didn’t feel as unwell.

November saw us facing the first round of GCSE mock or PPE exams for the teen and she did brilliantly, and we are delighted and proud. She revised hard and dedicated her time and effort into her exams and now we wait to see what her 6th form college choices are, it seems like a long time ago when I first sent her to nursery then primary school, I must admit I feel a bit shocked that we are now looking at A levels and university choices. I am sure she was a baby just yesterday.

December and Christmas rolled round although it did feel like a strange month and not very Christmassy. We managed to get a flu bug which resulted in two rounds of antibiotics for the children but we made it through and cooked a community Christmas lunch for a group of people and had our own Christmas Day too.

It’s not been an easy year, but we seem to have made it to the end. We are hoping that 2023 will come in calmly, and give us a gentle ride. I guess we shall see if that comes to pass.

How’s your 2022 been?

If you would like to keep up with us you can find me sharing about ADHD, Menopause, and life here and our family instagram here. You can also track us down on Facebook and Twitter too.

Goodbye 2022. Hello 2023, what have you got in store for us, I wonder?