The Herniman House

 
This past year has been chaotic, hard but wonderful.
 
I wouldn’t have been able to survive half as well without my fantastic husband, and family. They were there through all the best and worst and mundane parts of 2017. Also I’ve had some new and old friendships really develop. Both online and in “real life” though some are crossing over which is just fantastic! I’m really starting to feel content with who I’m surrounding myself with, and have such a supportive village. That’s not to say there aren’t many more people I don’t get to see so much, who I’d like to see more of. But all our lives get so busy it’s not always easy to do.
 
2017 has been a year of learning for me. Learning how to parent two small children, learning to let go of the eldest when he went to school, learning new systems when returning to work after maternity leave, learning what I want from myself in life, and also learning to deal with my own mental health.
 
None of these have been particularly easy, and all of them will be on going learning experiences. However as the year ends I finally feel content. Not that I can sit back and do nothing, there’s plenty of hard work to be done in the new year, in all parts of my life. But I feel happy with the way things are progressing and the plans I’m starting to have to push forward in all these areas.
 
As with any year, I guess, there are regrets. My biggest one is not focusing on my mental health sooner and taking so long to sort it out. It’s only really within the last two months or so that I finally feel like I’m in control of it and that I’m in a good place. I’m sad that it took so long, mainly because of the affects it had on my parenting and my behaviour around the children. Not that it was a drastic as that may sound, but I just know that it could have been so much better, with more patience and understanding.
I’m not dwelling on the negatives, as much as I might regret things in the last year, there’s nothing I’m able to do to change what’s been, I can only focus on learning from the experiences and making for a better 2018.
 
This year hasn’t been all bad, far from it. It’s been an amazing year for travelling and exploring new places with the family.
Abroad we visited Portugal and France. Portugal has fast become one of our favourite places to visit, and we already have the next visit booked! France was the first ‘big’ trip in the motorhome. It wasn’t without struggles (family sickness bug whilst cooped up in a caravan on wheels anyone!?) but mostly it was a lovely trip, great company (thanks mum and dad!) and plenty of lovely food.
In the UK we were lucky enough to visit Bluestone, Minehead, and our annual trip to Tenby.
We certainly were very spoilt travel wise – hopefully we can continue that into 2018!
 
It’s been a big year for the boys too. G has started school, and is now going five full days a week! He’s thriving and absolutely loves it, and despite all the stress beforehand we are so happy with our choice of schools. The staff are just fantastic and are a great support for G and also for us as parents.
B is no longer a baby but a hurricane of a toddler. He’s a force but incredibly sweet too. His personality is really coming through, and they’re both learning to share and play together, which is just wonderful to watch. I’m so excited to watch them grow together this coming year, and see what new experiences are in store for us all.
 
So overall it’s been a bit of an up and down year, but then I guess all years are really. The most important thing is that it’s finished feeling positive and looking forward. I’m happy and excited to build on everything in the New Year.
 
Wishing all my wonderful readers a very happy and prosperous new year, and I look forward to chatting to you all through the year!
 
Mrs H xxx