Monday, April 07, 2025

2024: A year in review – Alhamdulillah

Just like the previous years, I’m late again in writing down my reflections from the past year. Right now, I’m in Dubai. But how did I end up here? To explain that I have to go back to the beginning of 2024.

The year started with me in Pakistan. My house construction was nearly complete. My father’s condition remained the same. He still couldn’t speak. At times, he became hyperactive and aggressive; other times, he was calm. My mother was a bit worried about his mood swings, but that was completely understandable given his condition.

I returned to Sydney. In January, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law visited us in Sydney. My mother-in-law stayed with us for two months.

Around the same time, my parents and I decided to move into the new house in February. Due to my father’s health, he couldn’t help with the move, so my mother had to manage most of the burden. I suggested delaying the move until I could return to help, but she was eager to settle in as soon as possible. After all, it had been her lifelong dream to own her own house.

I still remember the happiness in her voice when I spoke to her on the phone after she had moved in. It was a special moment.

During Ramadan, we travelled to Pakistan again and spent almost a month in our new home. Although the house was mostly completed, a few finishing tasks were still pending, like completing the kitchen, finishing the drawing room and purchasing furniture. So we were busy in completing some of these tasks. It was a wonderful time and we celebrated Eid there.

When we returned to Sydney, my father’s mood swings returned, which again worried my mother. My brother and sister also visited Pakistan during Summer.

During the year, I applied to many jobs in Pakistan and the Middle East, hoping to relocate closer to family. I also applied for remote jobs. Unfortunately, I had no success, which was frustrating. I told myself that maybe Allah had other plans that I couldn’t yet see.

I was desperate to make move and to change something. Therefore out of desperation, I decided it was time to change houses in Sydney. The house we were living in felt too small and I felt my kids need more space. So I put it on the market in December and engaged an agent.

In December, we visited Pakistan once again and also made arrangements for Umrah. For the new kitchen in Pakistan, I placed an order with a company. It turned out to be very expensive, but once completed, it looked amazing. It became the best part of the house. On the 31st of December, we boarded our flight to Jeddah. I’ll share the details of my Umrah experience in another blog as it happened in 2025.

Work-wise, things went fine this year. I finally completed my AWS Solutions Architect certification, something I had been contemplating for the past four years. Achieving it boosted my technical confidence and helped me learn quite a few new things. Otherwise, things were fine at work.

So, like every time, if I sum up everything that apart from my father’s condition and no luck finding job in Pakistan, the rest year I would say has been an amazing year for me to achieve significant milestones of my life and fulfilling life-long dream of owning my own house in Pakistan. I am truly grateful to Allah for his blessings.

Dated: 07-Apr-2025

2024: A year in review – Alhamdulillah

Just like the previous years, I’m late again in writing down my reflections from the past year. Right now, I’m in Dubai. But how did I end u...