Highs & Lows of 2011

Last week, to celebrate our 6th anniversary, my wife Jess and I went out for dinner and, as is our tradition, we spent time reflecting on the year gone past, and sharing our “highs and lows” for the year.

Here are some of my own personal “highs” for 2011 (in order of appearance):

• Paddling in my first ever SurfSki race series – www.marineseries.co.za
• Renovating our House (see also “lows”)
• U2 Concert in Cape Town
• Mens Camp
• Buying an iPad 2 – read 3 Reasons Why I Love my iPad 2
• Road-tripping to Plett with a very pregnant wife (stopping every 5 min to pee)
• Catching the best waves of my life in J-Bay
• Living in Durbs (never gets old)
• Becoming a dad (best thing that has ever happened to me)
• My blog getting Freshly Pressed and getting a bunch of attention and exposure…
• Teaching the Alpha Course live
• Doing the Oribi Gorge swing
• Preaching “Inception” at God in the Movies – definitely one of my favourite films
• Starting Kettlebells (possibly the best and most complete workout you can give your body! see Flux Motion for details)
• Being a part of Red Frogs Ballito

However, as we laughed and reminisced, we also both realised that 2011 has in fact been quite a tough year for us. Here are a few of the “lows” from 2011:

• Renovations that took far too long and cost far too much
• Living in our house while said renovations took place (doing our dishes in the bath for a month is a personal favourite)
• Jess throwing up everyday for 4 months during her pregnancy
• Jess being admitted 3 times to hospital for kidney stones and various complications, worrying if we would lose the baby, having surgery twice while pregnant…
• Becoming a parent (see “highs”, but still a big adjustment)

And so, as we reflected and pondered this year of change, we acknowledged it has been…

a hard year, but a healthy year.

In fact, this time in 2010 we were both exhausted and burnt out, and yet this year we seem to be in a better place than we’ve ever been. With more energy, more peace, more grace towards each other, and an incredibly deep sense of contentment with our lives right now.

And so, I guess happiness and joy is less connected to our circumstances and more connected to our inner world than we might give credit for. It is not simply the absence of conflict, but rather peace in the midst of it.

What were some of your highs and lows of 2011?

From the blog side of things, 2011 has been an amazing year for me. I have absolutely loved sharing some of my thoughts and experiences with you, and I honestly can’t wait for where things are going in 2012. I would just like to thank every single person that has taken the time to visit my site, and be a part of it. I really appreciate the support!

May you have a blessed festive season, filled with God’s peace and joy.

Tom