The old and the new

There’s just something about coming back home that I find so reviving. Just breathing in the air and seeing familiar old places brings back so many wonderful memories from my childhood.

We are having a great time with family here… eating, playing, talking and more eating.

As the year draws to a close, I thought about all the amazing things that have happened including…

…My second pregnancy journey, surviving a rough first trimester, our major down-syndrome scare and the restless wait for baby to pop.

…Wondering how I could love another child as much as I loved my first one, but having my fears all dissipated immediately at Nathan’s and Grace’s first meeting, and now completely embracing this wildness and sweetness with two little wilds.

…Being surprised over how equally tough the post-partum period is second time round, going into survival mode over sleep-deprivation, but then learning how to edit such moments to keep the good ones.

…Also bravely taking the big plunge with a new pixie cut.

…Receiving the sweetest kiss ever.

…Discovering an impossible recipe for an egg-less, butter-less, milk-free Crazy Cake.

…Coming up with an awesome new creation called The Ultimate Bib.

…And embarking on a crazy new venture to start my own family day care.

Earlier this week on one quiet afternoon while the children were napping, I started flipping through some old photos. I smiled over some poignant moments captured and chuckled over snapshots of some of the funny poses we pulled.

I also thought about all the awesome new connections I have made this year in the blogging community through incredible blogging link-up parties hosted by Essentially Jess and The Multitasking Mummy, Wordless Wednesdays with Sakura Haruka, My Little Drummer Boys and Twinkle in The Eye, and all the lovely folks at the Singapore Mom Bloggers network.

(I used to hold back from link-up parties as I thought that such parties were all for bloggers who had already formed their own cliques and networks. I imagined that a new person walking into the room would just end up as a wallflower with no one coming up to chat to me the whole night. So I was amazed at the welcome, warmth, friendliness and openness that I received at these parties).

And this thought came to my mind… “Friends: Old and New”.

I am grateful for old friends and loved ones who have set the colours of the underlying fabric of my life, and also for new friends who have added to the colour and pattern of this tapestry.

“We need old friends to help us grow old and new friends to help us stay young”

So here’s to the friends of auld lang syne and also looking forward to more new memories to be made with friends, both old and new.

P.S. My favourite new year poem and thoughts on the meaning of “auld lang syne”.

 

Linking up to the IBOT party at Essentially Jess