There’s something about the dawn of a new year that makes us much more reflective isn’t there? I’m no different and I’ve used some of my time away from work over Christmas as some time to just be and do what I want, when I want. Although if I’m honest, it went quite quickly.

Before Christmas MOH mooted the idea that he might work from home in between Christmas and New Year but quickly got the message that this wouldn’t be appreciated from the look on my face alone. That’s a hereditary thing I think, at our family ‘fake’ Christmas earlier in December my niece claimed to have acquired this skill from the family, and if truth be known, so have I.

Hey ho – all I can say is sometimes it’s useful, other times less so.

But one of things I enjoyed doing was a proper look back at the year, so much happens that we skim over, you know the small stuff and often the positive things at that. You know the enjoyable moments, the things that make us smile and that somehow get swept away in the whirlwind of everyday life.

For the first time in a few years I downloaded one of the many workbooks available online to take a more structured look at this year, and to sure to start thinking about my word for 2019 (more on that tomorrow).

This year my word was kind, something I think I mostly remembered, but something I had to remind myself of too. 2018 has been a peculiar year for us in many ways with plenty of emotions, both happy and sad. That’s usual for most years I guess, but there seemed to have been more extremes, but some days, weeks, months are like that.

But we all have the power within ourselves to remember and focus on the good things, well I believe that anyway, and I’m sure it’s a mindset approach, which is natural for some (me) and can be learnt by others, but that’s a whole other blog post.

So while I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked in the garden , in this post I’m looking back at five positive memories from 2018, because as Linford Christie once said: Positive Mental Attitude!

Dinner at the Gravetye: we finally used the voucher which was a gift from our 110th celebrations back in 2017. The food was great, the setting was great, and it was great to sit and ponder how life after 50 had been, so far.
Getting my crochet on: this year has been the year that crochet has become my thing. I’ve finished a project, started a new one and planned many more. That said, my hook hasn’t been out for a while and so I need to rectify that soon.
Visiting the Chelsea Flower Show on preview day: Chelsea is always good fun, but I learnt this year that it’s even more fun without the crowds, so much so, that I’m hoping to do the same again in 2019 – fingers crossed.
The carpet of pink blossom in Greenwich Park: Spring, closely followed by Autumn, is my favourite season, it’s the season that’s full of hope and where your heart starts to sing again, and your head believes it too.
Taking the plunge and renovating our conservatory: I know that’s a big thing – and it was on the whole a positive experience, but one of the things I don’t want to forget is the discovery of newspaper behind the architrave. History fascinates me, and the history of our house even more so.

Even just setting out to write this post, I tended to focus on the recent past. A quick scroll through my Instagram feed and a proper think about the year threw up plenty more memories, and more than the five I set out to find.

So what, will you remember from 2018? And what will you challenge yourself to remember?

* This is a collaborative post but all views are, as usual, my own.