Among all the years I have experienced during my life, 2019 has definitely got to be one of the most eventful year ever. I had the opportunity to encounter many ups and downs which almost changed the course of my life and my family’s life.
In this post, I plan to just reflect and provide a brief summary of events to recap the year and perhaps offer a brief reflection. For ease of reading, I have broken the essay into 5 parts. (Sorry the US trip took the bulk of it!)
The 1st Quarter – January to March
2019 began with a year full of anticipated expectation. I had just gotten my acceptance from Ottawa to pursue my MSc and I was waiting on other universities in Canada to get back to me. Had I gotten accepted into any other university, I would need to make plans to pack my bags and move the family to Canada. It was a daunting thought – to uproot the family and move but I told the wifey we’ll just wait and see what happens.
In February, my uncle from Canada made a side trip to see his nephews and we had a good time bonding over during the Chinese New Year period. Wifey and I hosted the family in our place for dinner during the 2nd day of CNY and it was nice seeing the mini family gathering.
By end of February and early March I had gotten news that I did not get into any of the universities I had applied for. It was a bit of a bummer to receive those emails but part of me was glad. I was glad because I felt the family need not be in limbo anymore. We could move on with our lives – and that’s precisely what I did.
In March 2019, we bought a used car from a local dealer – a 2009 Hyundai Event and we began to start looking for a place to buy. I didn’t want to live in regret and not get back on my feet and move on with life. It was also around this time that I got the news that one of the project proposals I was working on was awarded by my client – what a great way for me to regain my focus back on my career during this period.
The 2nd Quarter April – June
As April rolled in I became heavily involved in my work. I was now required to manage 2 projects starting in April and work kept me pretty much occupied. Wifey was getting used to driving around and I felt happy for her. She could take the little bub for activities and keep him occupied during the day and also meet up with friends during the day.
May went by without much fanfare. We were gearing up for our major holiday to the US – the main reason for this trip was to celebrate my cousin’s wedding in Washington DC, however leading up to the trip was not an easy affair for me. Wifey was worried about the thought of taking our 20-month-old toddler on a 27-hour trip. We had several disagreements and arguments over this, but I should have been better in managing this – bottom line was wifey just needed some assurance and I felt I could have done a better job in assuring her. We finally managed to reconcile and soon she was again on her feet and eager for the trip. With a few more weeks remaining we spent our weekends buying snacks for my cousins’ kids which wifey felt would be a great idea!
Finally, it was June and we were all ready for our trip. I had decided that we could go to Florida for a side trip after the wedding and hang out in Disneyworld – we were fortunate that my uncle had a holiday home in Orlando and we could stay there for free! What a great deal. To US trip was truly a memorable trip for the family. I recalled working half day that Wednesday and rushing home after collecting a few items for wifey at Watsons. With the bags packed 1-2 weeks before, we were all ready for the trip and we set off for the airport in the evening. We had checked into our flights (emirates) and wandered around the overrated Jewel mall before heading back to the airport to collect our simcards for the US. It was definitely a brilliant idea to get a US simcard for both of us as this was the first time I had done something like this. After a simple dinner, we boarded the plane and soon we were headed for Dubai for our connecting flight to Newark airport.
