And then the proverbial poo hit the fan. Nicky resigned from his exhausting job at the largest retailer in South Africa, just in time, as the verbal abuse he received there was starting to affect his mental health. Plus, I was ready to go into the office and punch his boss in the face. With a chair. A metal chair with spikes. His next job was a hopeless failure. Many promises made by a gutsy, but clueless entrepreneur meant that after a week he knew he had to find another, more stable job. There are few things in life more scary than facing the loss of your financial security. By the grace of God, a friend of a friend was emigrating to Australia and Nicky could step into his job within a few weeks. So many prayers, such support from our Christian family and our Heavenly Father. I didn't write much about this, I was too busy trying to keep my husband and my life afloat. Then in June my beloved Granny Mary died. It didn't come as a surprise, she was ill for a long time, but she was one of my favourite people. She built my confidence when no-one else would, or could. I still miss her terribly. Not six weeks later Nic's Granny Dot died suddenly. It was hell. Not a single person in his family had time to mentally prepare themselves for her passing. One Sunday she was fine, the next she was gone. On top of this, I had a mental year at work. Fortunately I had the same job the entire year, but it was rough. I think we all felt the tightening of the purse strings thanks to continued global recession. If only JZ could have held back on his fire pool, we all might have paid less tax. Idiot. Nicky then wrote his final Board exam in November. A very stressful time. I wrote this post on the roller coaster of emotions that follows such a huge exam. I questioned my decisions, my profession, my life.
Inevitably though, life is a cycle of good and bad...and hopefully the bad has made way for the good in 2014. We have our amazing, life-changing trip to South East Asia next year...and maybe some other life-changing events we have yet to see. There is always something to be grateful for, and Nicky and I believe that our faith keeps us grounded. God is always teaching us something.
And then, in case you thought it was all doom and gloom, here is some good news from 2013:
The Pope was named Esquire's Best Dressed Man on 2013 for exchanging the normal papal splendour for simple white robes. He is a complete legend. You have to read this amazing article on all the good stuff he did for the Catholic church this year (including denouncing the judgement of gays and lesbians, wow!, and taking a selfie). I'm not Catholic, but what a coup for Christianity.
The WWF had some great wins for conservation in 2013, including one close to our hearts..the War Against Rhino Poaching. Vietnam is one country hugely at fault, so next year on our travels I plan to wear this T-shirt. Why not some passive activism while travelling?
This is the Nat Geo Photograph of the year, taken by Paul Souders of a polar bear in the Hudson Bay.
Cheers to 2014, have a wonderful New Year!
Kate xxx
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