And just like that another incredible year is a wrap. It was a beautiful, memorable year with lots of highs and some lows but so, so much to be grateful for…

Firstly, grateful for all the big rocks in my life to have been well in place. All four of us and are loved ones were in good health which can be so easy to take for granted when things are indeed going well. Marriage and family felt solid. Kids struggled with school in the beginning of the year, but we switched schools and that made a huge difference in their happiness, learning and the overall energy in the family. Both of our work schedules were very intense and demanding but we are growing, learning and overall happy with our careers which is a lot to be grateful for.

I started the year waking up what felt like a million times every night nursing Saveer to then weaning him off the night and slowly weaning him off completely which was a huge milestone. I am grateful that I was able to nurse him for close to 2 years but also happy that this phase is now behind me and I can now snuggle with two little people and put them to bed and no one needs to eat in the middle of the night😊

Nandi, my little sister finally got married which was a huge blessing that we had all been waiting for and still in awe that she has finally moved an hour from me which means we get to see each other much more often. There were 3 more weddings in the family and they were beautiful. It was a gift to get together with my parents, siblings and extended family several times a year, dress up, dance and find joy. Yet, if I am honest, it was also intense planning, traveling and settling back to our lives as a sensitive introvert. It was absolutely worth it though.

I had completed 52 hikes in 2017 which got me excited to set some more “52 goals” in 2018 and while I didn’t get to 52, I made significant progress which I am very happy about. The best was 44 dates with Sumit! I didn’t count our (almost) weekly walks to Castro street which were also semi dates with moments of connection. I met 37 new people or reconnected with those I hadn’t connected in the last year. I read 25 books, the most I have read in a single year, completed 85 exercise classes and 35 hikes.

We traveled to Portland & India for weddings and did a few local trips. There was a camping trip in Washington with my mom and siblings, a Sonoma coast camping trip on the beach and a hostel trip with friends and we celebrated Saveer’s birthday with a camping trip with my grandfather which was incredibly beautiful.

There were emotionally hard moments at work this year. I heard a no for my promotion twice and the second time was incredibly hard, but I was very proud of myself for bouncing back and experiencing tremendous growth through my struggles. I am incredibly grateful to all the people who were a part of helping me rebound and move forward. I feel much more competent and confident entering the new year. (I need to write a separate post with more details on this!). I also spoke at a Product Marketing conference in Austin that went really well and I was glad I raised my hand and worked hard to do this.

I had a powerful experience with vulnerability. I have had a friendship that I have struggled with for many years and I took the courage to be more real including sharing both my love and my challenges and my own truths along my path and realized with a lot of pain that this wasn’t a safe space for me to be myself and I had to draw some firm boundaries. And then, I opened up with another colleague unexpectedly and found our relationship grow and thrive in abundant, meaningful ways. I guess the lesson is to be really discerning in who needs to be a part of my story and my truths and sometimes the answers aren’t very clear.

All in all, a beautiful, abundant and purposeful year and I am ready to take on 2019!