Yays and Nays of 2016

1. Tara grew up so much. She started talking, running and answering back. I couldn’t be happier with this kid. She is all I ever asked for. Naughty and nice, a bit sweet but with enough spice. If she follows her trajectory she will fend for herself well in this world.
2. We enjoyed a memorable trip to India, where we did our first 3G Vacation in Kerala. It was amazing to be back home with a kid in tow. Tara met her cousins for the first time, and I built Lego castles with my lil nieces.
3. We had a lovely time with Agam’s Aunt and cousin. They visited us over the summer break and added a lot of joy to our summer. We enjoyed some yummy Bengali delicacies, shared childhood stories and did some fun trips to the Berkeley campus.Tara ended up being not a very gracious host to her first house guest, but we got several stories to recount when she is older.
4. We bought our Nook. We love it. It’s got room for all of us, our interests, and makes it so easy for us to be better parents (the parents who take the kid to the park, every day. Well almost) 🙂
5. Agam ran his first big half marathon in SF. It will be a little while till he runs another one, and hence in hindsight, this will count as one of the YAYs of 2016.,
6. We enjoyed our visit to NY. Met up with old school friends and gorged our way through the NY Indian food scene. It was very nostalgic to meet old friends, equally exciting to meet their spouses, and oh so thrilling to play with their kids.
7. Papa visited us and Agam, Tara and I got to spend some great time with him. Even though the reason for his visit will count as the biggest NAY of 2016, his presence made us all so YAY!
8. I got a promotion, and I think I finally caught up on my two-year lag that motherhood had forced upon me. A promotion at Google is not just about money and ranks. It is a lot more. It is an acknowledgment about your ability to make a strong impact. And secretly, I rejoiced that I kept my record of a promo in a new job within the first 18 months.
9. I completed Six Sigma Green Belt certification, with a pretty cool project. Enjoyed solving every bit of the problem. And cherished the opportunity to bring together a team and lead them through some interesting challenges. The results were satisfactory, and the recipe repeatable.
10. I managed to move my blog from Blogspot to WordPress 🙂 This task was pending for so many years, and finally, it happened.
11. I attended a three day Search Inside Yourself workshop that helped me significantly in realizing my real intentions, ambitions, and incentives. I am more connected with myself, ever since I took the class. And a whole lot more accepting of the person I am.
12. We finally started doing play dates. They are fun and we love the parents we hang out with. Such a relief 😉
13. We settled on a great dinner routine this year with lots of salads, soups, and meats on the menu. Things got thrown off base after the accident. But we are slowly bringing healthy back.Thank You Air Fryer 😉
14. A final Yay on mentoring for young talent at work, helping them through their struggles, and showing them the path forward.

And now on to my NAYS!

1. Agam met with an accident. And his recovery eclipsed the entire Fall of 2016. I count my blessings that his injury is fully recoverable and he will be back to his runs in a year or so. But what happened could have been avoided. And for that, neither I nor he will ever forgive ourselves.
2. We sold Granada. Granada was special. It was our Nest. We tried hard to make the numbers work so we could keep it. But in the end it came down to the quality of life we will be forcing upon ourselves, trying to pay two mortgages. It was sold within a month and I hope the new owner keeps it with as much love as I did.
3. We had to cancel several trips and hence did not travel as much as we like this year. I get antsy when I am home for more than 3 months. I miss the nature, the greens and the blues, and the mountains and the people. People who are not like me. People outside this bubble.
4. We let the busyness of our lives get to us. We did not spend a lot of people with close friends this year. Everyone appeared to be more busy, and more distant. Not sure if it is just a perception on my end. But I felt something amiss in some relationships. And I am willing to hold myself accountable.
5. Donald Trump happened. I don’t want to waste more words on that topic.
6. And finally, Tara, Agam and I fell sick right at the beginning of our Christmas break. A silly darn stomach bug caught us all and ruined our plans for a very merry Christmas. But New Years is still to come. So we shall see 🙂

14 vs 6 – you can do the math. More on the next year’s plans in the next post. Happy Holidays!