A reflection on 2010.

2010 was the year of illnesses.  It seemed like Maya and I were forever sick with colds and flus, plus some infections and gastro type illnesses thrown in for good measure.  Maya had many ear infections and developed glue ear, for which we thought she might need grommets but thankfully her ears did clear towards the end of the year.  My vertigo flared up again and for the second half of the year I have been experiencing vertigo every two to three weeks.  Though thankfully it has been milder than the previous year, it is still unpleasant and I have had some attacks while out and about which is harder to manage.  Even Greg who rarely gets sick caught more colds than usual.

Then of course there's my mother who developed bladder cancer and had three operations.

Then there's a friend of mine who developed ovarian cancer and during an operation to remove the cancer a mistake was made.  She will have to undergo further surgery in February to reverse the problem caused during surgery and I hope that will lead her back on the road to recovery.

I returned to work at the end of January after 16 months on maternity leave.  At first it was an extremely hard adjustment to make.  I missed Maya terribly and felt tremendously guilty for leaving her.  It took Maya a long time to adjust to child care but now she is happy there and overall I do think her experiences with other adult carers and other children has been good for her.  And work has given me adult company and some time out from the constant demands of a toddler, which I needed.

Unfortunately I began to dislike my job and the long travel to and from work, but I have sorted out a different role for 2011, which I hope I will enjoy more.

We bought our first home in 2010, which was so exciting.  I'm scared to look at our finances now but happy to own our own place.

I have loved watching Maya's further growth and development and was fortunate to only work two full days a week and have the other five to spend with her.  2010 was the year Maya started walking and now she runs everywhere.  Her communication has also improved and now it is much easier to work out what Maya needs or wants.

Here's hoping that 2011 is a better year of health for everyone.