My parenting scorecard in 2012 and the year gone by

My report card as a parent in 2012 is out! How has it been - well you can see my marks for yourself! I did not make very good grades. It was an interesting exercise, first to figure out what parameters were important to me as a measure of how well I do as a mom, and then grading myself honestly. Then I had to explain the criteria to Ads and get him to rate me. Not sure of how much he really understood; for example, "self-esteem" is not a concept he is familiar with and I had to elaborate. I think he got about 80% of it and the grades he gave me are more or less in line with what I expected him to think.

I'm glad 2012 is over. It has been an exhausting roller-coaster year just in terms of the sheer amount of activity we crammed into it.
The highs:

1. I didn't have to move house!! Yes that's a big plus for someone who moves almost every year :)

2. I started work, first part-time then rapidly transitioned to full-time. There has been lots of learning and a huge sense of purpose in doing work that has deep impact.

3. S got a huge break at work and is now doing something pretty exciting, and that makes me a very proud wife, more so because I feel that's where he belongs. We went to the same b-school but I've always felt he is leagues ahead in terms of intellectual ability. (There, I've said it! Can't take it back!)

4. The kids have progressed well in school especially Ads who has leapfrogged in many areas. Y has also become a lot more confident and vocal and her language skills (Hindi & English) have shown a definite upswing in the last 2 months.

5. We travelled like maniacs this year. 9 holidays, not counting our summer breaks in Chennai and Bangalore and work-related travel that took us to some very interesting places. S and I managed a first - a kid-free week in gorgeous Himachal and we hope to have a couple holiday like that every year.

The lows - well every high comes with it's lows doesn't it? :) I'm not complaining because the not-so-great bits have just been an obvious byproduct of some of the good things that happened. S's new job meant that he had to shuttle weekly between Bangalore and Delhi and so we only had him for the weekends. Being a single parent through the week and having to juggle a demanding full-time job and two kids has meant that I am constantly exhausted. The exercise routine has fallen by the wayside and there are days I am sleeping for the same number of hours as when the kids were infants. It has done nothing for my sanity, patience, health or looks, and I've complain often enough to the husband that I've aged more than a few years in the last 6-7 months.

Like I said, 2012 been a roller-coaster ride. While it's been mostly good and unfailingly exciting, I am ready to look forward to 2013, which will hopefully be a calmer twelve months with a lot more family time. Sometimes I feel that the year gone by just have us a sneak peak - a template of how life is going to be with growing children and increasing responsibility (parental, filial and financial).

There are only 2 resolutions for 2013.

1. Get more sleep.

2. Cut back on work. I honestly can't take this hard-charging routine for much longer. Ideally, figure out something with reduced work hours and/or work-from-home.

Should not be hard, should it? :)

Happy New Year, everybody!