2020; A year of firsts

Happy New Year everyone! I really hope 2020 is a great one for you all.

From the outset, it looks like it’s going to be another pretty big one for us. 2020 is the year Marley starts school. So while it’ll be farewell to cheap holidays, it’s also going to be good riddance to sky-high nursery costs.

Although we do still have nine more months of those finance-crippling fees to face first.

2019 – A mixed bag

2019 was a mixed year for us, really.

My appendicitis and some extremely challenging work situations immediately leap to mind. But seeing my wife’s business begin to flourish, and watching Marley tackle every new situation and challenge with increasing confidence, fill me with an immense sense of pride.

There was also the launch of my radio show (which recently saw me named runner-up as Best Newcomer at the Riverside Radio annual awards – yay!) Another huge positive for me.

But all-in-all, despite the impending sense of doom that seems to accompany any conversation about the future of our country, our planet and the plight of mankind itself, I’m fairly happy to shove 2019 to one side and kick-start 2020 with some sense of renewed optimism.

2020 – Something new

In order to build and maintain that optimism, I’ll be attempting something new each and every week in 2020. That’s not necessarily a resolution as such, and by no means do I expect every new thing to be ground-breaking, or even interesting.

But by committing to at least trying new things, I’m hoping to enrich Marley’s (and our) lives that little bit more….and it should give me something worth writing about every once in a while, too.

So as we approach the end of week one of 2020 (already!) I’m happy to report that I’ve already ticked off a couple of new things.

Firstly, Marley and I had our first ever game of ping pong.

Now I’d like to be kind, and tell you that I let him win. I’d like to. But I’m afraid he needs to learn that life is hard, and he is going to have to up his game if he wants to defeat me at that particular sport.

The first week of January 2020 has also seen me donning glasses for the first time in my life. At the ripe age of 37, I am now bespectacled (for reading and using a computer at least).

So to turn that in to a positive, I used my new specs to help me read my first ever published short story.

That’s right, the Neu Dad is now a published author.

I will be doing my very best to keep you updated on our adventures throughout 2020, and if you have any suggestions of new things you think we might enjoy, please do get in touch.

In the meantime, I wish you all a positive, productive and very happy 2020.

(Oh, and if you would like to read my short story – in the brand new poetry and prose book Greetings – you can do so by clicking on this link right here.