The Year That Was…………… by Leena Kundnani




The start of a new year is a good time to reflect on the year gone by. The new year seems to offer a blank slate to create new memories, to start a new hobby, to indulge in a new hobby or just do something you’ve been meaning to do for a while. Every year, around this time, people start looking forward to a new year with eagerness and anticipation. Some people may want to start a new career or take up a course to enhance their career options. But most often, just some days if not weeks into the year, our good intentions seem to fizzle out. 


Like most of us, I too have often made (and not kept) my resolutions for beyond a few weeks into the new year. I have often wondered why that is so. And why is it that we choose the new year to start anything new? My mind goes back to my school days where as a young kid, I had never realized the wisdom behind the words my school Principal used to say to us….”today is the first day of the rest of my life”. Today I realize the wealth of meaning behind these words ...That you don't need to wait for a new month or new year to start something new. The time is “now” to start doing what you have always wanted to do. 


As I reminisce of the year 2023 almost coming to an end, lots of memories, good and bad come to my mind. At the start of this year, I had so many dreams, so many plans for this year, so many aspirations, and so many things to look forward to. This year I had  the wonderful opportunity to visit my parents back in India in February, and another trip to India in October was icing on the cake. This was the first year I had visited India 2 times in a single year and I feel so blessed to have had this chance. Another good thing that happened to me was getting introduced to this wonderful group of writers/bloggers. What a wonderful way to connect to people who share the same interest and passion for writing. In the spring of this year, my family and I took a trip to Chicago, a place that was on my bucket list for a few years now. What an incredibly exhilarating experience it was to stand on the glass ledge atop the 103rd floor of the Sears tower and look down below on the city. The panoramic view spanning across 4 states was a sight I’ll always cherish.  I also took a 3 day trip to Boston in Summer with my family. What made this trip more adventurous was taking the Amtrak instead of driving down. I remember the chaos and confusion when I got separated from my family in New York Penn Station when I went to grab a Starbucks coffee. We had 20 minutes to board the train, and for the first time the size of NY Penn just fazed me. Thankfully, I ultimately managed to reunite with my family and never was I so glad to see my husband as I was at that time (well, maybe with the exception of on our wedding day, shhhhh… dont tell anyone!)


Boston city itself was beautiful and charming in Summer. Indulging in long walks around the city was so much fun. Boston does have a very different vibe as compared to NYC, The Quincy market has such a quaint and European charm to it. Even the subway trains in Boston had a different feel to it compared to the subway in NYC. 


2023 was also a year when I had to learn to let go, learn that what is not meant to be needs to be set free. I was holding on to this notion, this belief of someone being my true friend. Friends who no longer want to remain so need to be set free.

And now for the things that didn't quite go as planned. I had started the year with good intentions of taking care of my health and giving my wellbeing a priority. I wonder what happened to that intent of mine. Like for all the times I would rather do a load of laundry than make the beetroot juice the doctor asked me to drink everyday. Or I would rather vacuum the house than go for the run I had promised my coach. And in spite of my good intention, I would rather choose spending time with my daughter baking that cake that I had promised my daughter, than catching up on my reading to enhance my career options. So many times of putting my wellbeing and my health on the backburner, but not guilty because it was for my family.


To another year, to 2024, and to more (unkept) resolutions…. 

Comments

  1. NayanaDecember 18, 2023 at 5:01 PM

    What a year this has been for you Leena!! Beautiful write up !

    ReplyDelete
  2. AtulDecember 18, 2023 at 6:30 PM

    Nice reflections Leena.. loved your take on ropes we skipped and not just those we jumped…

    ReplyDelete
  3. vaibhav mohanDecember 18, 2023 at 7:16 PM

    Well articulated and succinct description of the year. Loved reading it!

    ReplyDelete

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