Having recently read Jill Berry's review of the year and look ahead and re-discovered my own attempt from back in 2014-15, I thought I'd have another go at #nurture.
What's happened this year?
Back in December 2018, as soon as the term was done, we wasted no time in hopping on a 'plane and getting home. A traditional family Christmas also included an impromptu Park Run, but 2019 otherwise proved to be a pretty bad year for fitness (see further down!)
There were several family milestones this year - Ruth finishing her first year at university and Jacob finishing his last year at school (no more school fees!) Before we returned to Thailand in the New Year we opened a 21-year-old bottle of wine with Jacob which we'd had in the cupboard for eighteen years - given to us by some friends with the strict instructions not to drink until he'd reached 18.
We both managed a good deal of travel throughout the year, sometimes for work, sometimes for leisure. Destinations included: UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Cambodia China (Jo), Singapore as well as places all over Thailand. Although we miss home, friends and family we are in no position to complain - international teaching has many things to commend it!
And as Bangkok is somewhat of an international crossroads we find ourselves frequently visited throughout the year:
In other news, I had it confirmed for me in the Easter Holidays that I really don't like snakes!
The academic year ended, as it always does, with a stupendous piece of theatre - quite unlike any Speech Day I've ever been. This year I was given the honour of acting as the Master of Ceremonies:
As soon as proceedings came to an end, Jo made a dash for the exit to get on a plane. She made it back in time to see our little boy's last day at school:
Three weeks later, once my Summer School commitments had been discharged, I also headed back to the UK. We enjoyed pottering around in Llangollen, eating lots and even managed to fit in a hilly half-marathon (though Jo and I were roundly whipped by our children!)
And then, once the holidays were over, the new academic year started and we were back at it again.... I said that 2019 would be a year when I was 'Consciously Uncoupled' from social media. At the beginning of the year, I removed both Facebook and Twitter from my 'phone. I lasted completely off both for about a month, but it wasn't long before I felt I needed to reinstall Twitter. I get sooo much useful stuff from it that not having access to it was starting to make me feel de-skilled and out of the loop. So I failed miserably with Twitter, with FB I largely succeeded. I toyed with deleting my account completely, but for too many of my friends and acquaintances FB is my only means of contacting them, so I'm sticking with it.
This year to become more intentional with my use of Twitter I've done some pretty hard pruning of the people I follow. And I am unfollowing people who get into arguments about Brexit/Boris Johnson/Corbyn - the tone is vindictive and highly partisan on both sides. In general, I don't want to fall out with people because of their political views, just as I don't want to fall out with them because of their religious views. Life is too short.
And for 2020?
This year I have the following two personal aims (keep it simple, stupid!):
- Do some form of exercise every day. On days where there simply isn't time to cram in a proper session, I will bash out a few press-ups/sit-ups/chin-ups using an app I've got on my 'phone. I figure however lazy/tired/time-pressured I feel that won't be too much to ask.
- Complete my NPQH. I have ummed and ahhed about this for ages. It is a lot of money - GBP3600. I don't really need it, and some people I respect think it's a waste of time. But I've seen too many HT ads asking for it. I figure if nothing else it will keep me on my toes and demonstrate an on-going personal commitment to self-improvement. I am not sure the Mark Twain quote actually applies to this situation because I can't see myself being glad that I took on more hoop-jumping(!) but hey-ho. It is a good quote:
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour". - Mark Twain