2014 is almost finished and I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see the end of a year.
Usually, I’ll try to see the good in things but this year the bad took over the good.
On the 23rd of May my granny died. Coming to terms with this hasn’t been easy. I’m probably not through grieving yet either. There’s rarely a day when I don’t think of her.
I’ve also been handed way more than I can handle in work. I’m managing the support team, implementing new solutions like the SMS gateway and the new backup solution, managing a few contractors, implementing and monitoring security and maintaining the entire production, test and office environments. As well as this, I’m also the escalation point for support so just as I’m about to really focus on a problem, someone will stand at my desk expecting an immediate answer. Managing people is very difficult. Managing people and also doing another full time job is next to impossible. The balls that I’m juggling regularly fall so when I’m focused on managerial, something in the environment goes pear shaped. When I’m focused on the environment or a new system, work doesn’t get done and I have to go back to management again.
This year has been great in other ways. We rented an apartment in Spain for a month in June. That was a fantastic experience. Living in a completely different climate was refreshing and relaxing. I worked over there for a few weeks and then took a few weeks off at the end.
I also travelled to Canada with Comhaltas for the Echoes of Erin tour. I blogged about it at the time so take a look if you’re interested. That was an absolutely incredible two weeks. I loved Canada and the Canadian people. The people I travelled with were lovely and great musicians as well so all round I couldn’t have been happier with the experience.
This is also our second year of marriage. Without Emma I wouldn’t have handled my granny’s passing and all the stresses of work. She has both picked me up and given me a kick in the ass when I’ve needed it. One of the best things I ever did was propose to Emma. I continue to admire and appreciate her determination, kindness, patients, humour and thoughtfulness. She is also the reason why Méabh our daughter continues to thrive. I just hope Méabh doesn’t talk as much…
Speaking of Méabh she is just brilliant. A month ago she progressed from trying to walk to actually getting up and going where ever she wanted. It was in the most unlikely place as well. We were visiting Mick O’Brian and his daughter Aoife when they finished a performance in Drogheda. We let Méabh down for a second and she just got onto her feet and walked away. It was really that quick. She saw something she wanted and she walked to it. Actually, I think it was another person but she decided it was more convenient to walk over. Apart from walking Méabh is getting on really well. She’s forming a lot of different sounds and occasionally she correctly replicates something that we’ve said. For example, on Sunday Emma said Ouch. Méabh thought this was hilarious so said outzz. It wasn’t completely accurate but it was a great first try. I also get called Daddy first thing in the morning or when she gets excited. Any other time I get called Dada. She’s trying to say Nama’s name too but that usually comes out as Nana or Nananananana. I don’t expect any real words from her for a good six months or so and even then they will be very simple but it’s really interesting to hear her start to explore the different sounds.
Again, moving on, I mentioned Nama my guide dog in the last paragraph. I have him two years now. He’s been better than I could have anticipated. I’m convinced he’s bullet proof. No situation seems to put him off. When I need him he’s an absolute rock and when it’s time to unwind he’s a big pup.
So there you have it. 2014 has been very good but unfortunately because of two bad things the good has been over shadowed. Bring on 2015.
I would like to finish by wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a rewarding, fulfilling and prosperous new year. My sincerest thanks for continuing to visit this website. My special thanks to those who have left comments and who have contacted me through the site. It has been a pleasure to contine the DigitalDArragh.com website for an eleventh year.
Darragh,
I wish you a fabulous new year, and even though the bad has overshadowed the good, the good has most certainly won.