For lots of us who work in offices this is the last working week of the year. Even if you’re working through the Christmas period, as we wind down and a new calendar year beckons it is inevitable that we take stock. We might make new plans, think about change — big and small — and at the very least reflect on the year that has been.
I have certainly been in reflection mode for the last week or so. I have given a lot of thought to the way I live, how I work, the big things I’d like to change, the small things I don’t want to change, the list goes on. So I thought this week would be a good opportunity to open up some discussion and talk about how 2013 was. To kick it off let’s talk high lights and low lights.
The lowlight
I got the lowest part of the year out of the road right at the start. I spent last New Year’s Eve in the emergency department of a regional hospital with my dad, a seven-week old baby and a very sick husband. My husband contracted viral meningitis and got very sick, very quickly. It was traumatic and frankly the worst New Year’s Eve I’ve ever had by quite a long shot.
In lots of ways we were lucky; he received terrific care, once the problem was diagnosed he was treated and his prognosis was good and we had lots of family and friends on hand to help. In other ways it wasn’t particularly lucky at all. My husband lay in a hospital for five days, an hour away from where we were staying. Our then two-and-half year old was rattled by the drama and stopped sleeping. Our baby was right in the midst of a legitimately labour-intensive time and consequently I found the whole experience quite shattering, emotionally and physically.
It meant our beach holiday wasn’t the relaxing time we had expected and it meant our 2013 got off to a rocky start. The upshot, of course, was that I recognised quite early that it would be difficult for the year to get any worse and in that regard I was right.
The highlight
Just as the lowlight of 2013 was clear cut so was the highlight. It came about when I received an email from Marina Go. We had conversed over Twitter a few times and when she suggested we meet for coffee I was hoping there might be a position at Women’s Agenda. I learned that the editor Angela Priestley was having a baby and as my conversations with both of these dynamic and passionate women progressed my excitement at having the opportunity to edit this site for a period of time grew.
It waned temporarily as I wrestled to find childcare but once the logistics were sorted and Angela and our site producer, Jordi Roth, brought me up to speed I discovered my excitement was well founded. It has been such a thrilling experience to edit a site that advocates for women’s success. It is subject matter that I am passionate about and subject matter that is incredibly important. Juggling this role with the demands of small children is only possible because of the support and flexibility that comes with having a boss who understands the situation implicitly. I am incredibly fortunate to have that.
It compounds my understanding of the importance of having that support and understanding in the workplace.
Being here, editing this platform, meeting the incredible women who read and visit this site, interviewing the women who populate it has been the highlight of my year.
What about you? Feel free to share the high points and low points of your year: whether it’s something at work or at home (or both) I’d love to know how your 2013 panned out.