2023: A year in review – From where do I begin ?

 It's June 2024, and I still have not written my recollections of 2023. From where do I begin? Anyways, let’s start.

The year began with my visit to Pakistan. My house’s grey structure almost got finished during that time. I selected tiles with my architect and came back. The rest of January and February progressed with construction activities. On March 3rd, I was in the office when my dad called me and talked to me about electric switches. After one hour, I got a call from my sister that Dad had a stroke attack. At first, we did not understand it and the gravity of the situation. My brother and sister flew back to Lahore, and I also booked a flight but then decided to go later since Dad was out of danger. I flew to Lahore after a few weeks. It was very heartbreaking to see Dad like that. He had an NG tube in his nose through which he used to get his feed. The NG was there for 3 months. My Dad lost his speech and right arm movement due to the stroke. Since my Dad was supervising the house construction, the construction work stopped. I mobilised the workers and bought the materials they required. Meanwhile, my contract at NAB was ending in May, and I had to find a new job. I gave multiple interviews but did not get any good offers. Finally, I got an offer from a government department. I started that job in May. I was supervising the house construction remotely and hired another supervisor to assist me in finishing. Even though he did not supervise things in the way I wanted, he still provided help. In June, we visited Melbourne and stayed there for some days. Traveling with kids who all have their interests becomes hard and exhausting. So, it was not a great trip, I would say. I visited Pakistan again in October as my sister was worried that things might not be going the ideal way. Also, that gave me the opportunity to stay with my parents. In November, we went on a weekend cruise. I really loved this kind of holiday. I am at a stage in life where a holiday means good food to me. In December, while browsing tickets, I found cheap tickets to Pakistan so I visited Lahore again for 10 days. That gave me an opportunity to spend time with my parents as well as finish the last few things of the house. I visited Pakistan 4 times within a year. There was a time during COVID when I couldn’t visit Pakistan for almost 3 years. These travels compensated for that loss.

In a nutshell, 2023 has four main aspects for me. Foremost, the health and condition of my Dad; second, my house construction; third, travel, and holidays; and fourth, the stress of finding a new job.

Dated: 07-Jun-2024