Well Alan has tasked me with the honour of writing his 2000th blog!
Where do I even start? The world is a very different place since my last guest appearance in November 2012! (1000th blog) We are just now starting to get back to normal after the Corona virus pandemic and months and months of lock-down, working from home, and home schooling. We have a long way to go but we are getting there. If you’d have told me back then that I’d be wearing a mask indoors in public places, I’d have thought you were insane!
So, over the past few years Alan and I have moved up the ranks in our careers, I have a successful counselling business and have recently accepted a new job as senior counsellor for London Women’s Clinic, Alan is testing the waters with his new venture Akeso Consulting. Reagan has just started high school, and Lincoln is living his best life in year 5. Sasha is still sauntering around the house, though she is getting quite old and a bit fat now, and finally our new addition Billy, our 2-year-old Springer. We are currently getting ready for our Christmas celebrations and are desperately trying to avoid Covid at the moment, so our plans aren’t stopped by this crazy virus.
Christmas is special to us this year because last year it was really taken from us. Not just that but both of his parents have suffered significant health issues, which nearly meant we lost them both in a matter of months, but by God’s amazing grace they have both recovered, and are nearly back to new! It’s for this reason that Christmas is so special, and I think we are all aware that time isn’t promised so we need to make the most out of the time we have. Which is also a reason why we are working so hard to go see my family next year because it has been far too long and I miss them terribly.
Otherwise, we are just ticking along, everyone is seeming pretty happy right now. I think Alan has the biggest struggles with work at the moment and is pretty stressed out by that a lot of the time. He is a simple guy in the fact that he functions best with routine and stability. He loves his job, but that job just seems a bit unstable at the moment and that just doesn’t sit well with a guy like him, particularly because change of any description isn’t his favourite ? I am so proud of him though, he is an amazing husband and father, he works SO hard for us and is honestly the glue that holds us all together, I don’t know what any of us would do without him. Ultimately, I feel like he is happy, it’s just this work thing niggling away at his contentment, but we’ll get there in the end, he has us at the end of the day that is enough to sustain us all.
I’m doing ok but starting to struggle with balance. My family sacrificed so much for me to study and those first few years of working for free, that it feels very important for me to earn enough for them to see that all those sacrifices were worth it…stupid I know. The truth is now that I’ve reached a point of fighting and clawing my way to the top of the counselling ladder, I need to transfer from clawing to living and I’m finding that transition difficult. Although, for the 1st time in my life my parents at home are really proud of me and I have to admit that their approval drives the hell out of me…though I kind of wish it didn’t matter so much to me. The other secret is, that yes, I work for my family but also, I like it… like a lot? It makes me feel very good but if the cost of that feeling is me being present with my family, then I’d give it back in a second…so balance is my word for 2022 and we will see where that gets us.
Reagan is doing fantastic, busy living her best life. She is such a happy little thing and is working hard at school, socialising, horse riding, playing violin, drama, and finding her place in the world. She is such a good girl just chatters and smiles right now. She is in such a good mood on the lead up to Christmas which is a nice change from the hormone monster she was a month ago. I think the transition to high school was a difficult one for her, mostly affected by the year of lockdown we had in her final year of primary, but honestly, she is so clever, and like me finds the school routine easy. She seems to be finding her feet now though, long may it last!
Lincoln is the same as he always is, stable and consistent just like his dad. Everyone likes him because he is just so laid back and easy going, has a smile and a kind word for everyone. He does have quite the temper but that is mostly fuelled by too much electronics, which is really something we need to tackle in the new year…balance (there’s that word again). He is really into anime, gymnastics, cricket, video games and Sasha, that is his life in a nutshell. He really does love school, but I don’t think he is particularly challenged by it, such a clever dude. He is so grown now, bigger than his sister and on his way to being as tall as me!
So that is us in a nutshell, so different that we were 1000 blogs ago, yet so the same. We all love living life together, we are a happy family, not flawless, but happy and ultimately, what else is there? The future of the world we live in is a bit uncertain at the moment, but we are good, the Fabulous Forster Four, together we can do anything.