2023’s been great. But I believe more’s in store in 2024!

On this the second last day of 2023, a most eventful year for me, I thought why not pause to recap some major milestones?!

It’s also a great time to look ahead to what’s in store in 2024 as I believe there are more memorable moments to come!

Ready? Then, let’s go!

Remembering 2023 with gratitude

1. Since March, I have met up and connected with a bunch of really cool stay-at-home dads. We’re now a decent community of 31 fathers (and growing) that provides friendship and solidarity to one another. Calling ourselves “The Ordinary Dads“, this rag-tag grouping of men (ranging from ages 30+ to 60+) meet face-to-face monthly, and text one another ‘dad hacks’ and jokes the rest of the time. Prioritizing parenting above all else is our unifier. Not careers or cash. Not education or status. Just parenting. How cool is that?! For more about it, see my post in June.
   
2. After completing two back-to-back memoir writing courses (April to July), I’ve formed a writer’s club with some like-minded coursemates. Since August, we have met every first Saturday of the month to commiserate and spur one another on in our writing journeys. I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to finally have people in my life who understand this crazy writing life I’ve embarked on since 2019. I had tried starting an online writers’ circle with fellow dad writers abroad in August 2020, but that fell through. I guess nothing beats meeting face-to-face, which is why this second attempt in-country has been so much more fruitful. To no longer walk this writing journey alone is, for me, one of my best gifts this year! It’s, quite simply yet ironically, beyond words to describe. But describe I must. In the new year. It’s just too amazing for me not to. Watch this space yeah?
   
3. As of this morning, WordPress tells me that in 2023 my blog had 8,297 page views, 97 new posts (now 98). 382 likes, and readers coming mostly from my home country, the US and Australia. Not a number-chaser, but I find these statistics heartening nonetheless, given I’ve done almost nothing this year to promote my blog.
   
4. For three days in September, I took off for my very first solo silent retreat in a spiritual center nestled somewhere in the west of my country near a nature park. To be far from the maddening crowd and the demands of this noisy world was such a refreshing and much-needed reboot for me. I was able to commune with God and re-center myself in ways I desperately needed. So much so, I’m thinking of making this a permanent annual or biannual pilgrimage! For more about the experience, see my September essay post and poem.
   
5. Finally, between the 9th and 19th of this month, I took my family back to Hanoi, Vietnam where my wife and I spent two years living and volunteering back in 2003 to 2005. It was less of a sightseeing holiday (though we caught some in Sa Pa) as we were busy catching up with friends. Just to spend time over a meal with different groups of them, catching up and sharing lives (we last visited in 2017), was such a joyous way to end 2023. Despite the time (20 years now since first we set foot in Hanoi), distance between us (over 3,000 km), and language barrier (my wife and I have forgotten so many Vietnamese words), our friendships have miraculously deepened beyond my wildest imagination.

Anticipating 2024 with enthusiasm

1. Writing will remain a major feature in 2024. For my loyal followers (many thanks!), rest assured you will see more of my writing in the new year. In particular, I’m going to be more intentional than I’ve ever been. I will dive deeper into my cornerstone content (Autism, Parenting, Writing, and Life) and strive to be a “mini-expert” in all of them. I resolve to do more reading, researching, and reviewing to write with more punch and panache. I’m also hoping, on my own and with others, to publish on more (hopefully paying) platforms. And of course, I want to wrap up my memoir rewrite once and for all before deciding if I will publish it or not. But most of all, I want to hone my writing voice even more by ‘digging my heels in’ and being authentically ME without trying to mimic others.
   
2. Next year will be a major year for my youngest as he takes the national-level exam for the first time. Needless to say, I must spend time to help him overcome the stress that comes with it, without losing sight of what matters. Because, though it’s important he tries his best, it’s even more important I work hard NOT to make it his main thing in life for 2024. For life, as we all know, is more than exams!
   
3. Like in the past when I made annual New Year resolutions, I’ll be doing the same again next year. But, instead of making new ones annually, I’ve been making resolutions that last 24 instead of 12 months. To give them more runway. For the period 2022 to 2023, I had resolved to “lean into what scares me“. In the next two years, 2024 and 2025, I resolve every day to be a “better version of myself” than I was yesterday. Every day. Tall order I know. But one’s gotta shoot for the moon to at least land among the stars, right?
   
4. This year, I either had wonderful chance encounters with new acquaintances or people I know from my past. Or I reconnected memorably with friends long forgotten. All these happened serendipitously for me at various unexpected points this year. May it be so again next year. Don’t we all love pleasant surprises?
   
5. In keeping with my New Year resolutions, I’m also going to bring back my family’s “gratitude chart”. Two years ago, I started getting my wife and kids to list down on chalkboard every night things we were grateful for. Then, I took pictures of that board for our family archives. I think it’s time to bring this tradition back in 2024. This round though, I need to discuss with my family how to make this tradition even more meaningful and intentional. To instill a lasting posture of gratitude for one another, the world, and ultimately our Maker.

Okay that’s it for now! Happy New Year and see you in 2024!!