Your 2023 review

It might be the time in my life where a lot of things are changing (mid 30s) but I’m more aware of how the year has gone.

Anyway, here’s mine and feel free to share yours.


in general no major drama so I can focus on the trivial.

Health: lots of non-serious niggles which lasted a long time which affected me quite a lot.

Broke my shoulder in February which took a long time to recover from but OK now.

Despite everything mental health held up pretty well.

Family: all good, #2 on the way soon, big change…

Work: . Managed to do as well as last year when 30% of people lost their jobs in the firm. Was a 3 month period where every Friday an email went around with more leavers.

Found it hard to get through parts of it with the relentless negativity in all aspects of the job but probably will do me good in the long run.

Cycling et al: broken shoulder during a crash really put me back and I never got back onto of it really. It was a sudden unpredictable low-side and it has affected my confidence and has definitely reduced my enjoyment of cycling since - not least as the wife makes me feel extra guilty whenever I do go out as she picked up the slack when I was healing.


i did pick up swimming since July and that’s become very regular so that feels like a big life change and I should be able to keep it up once #2 turns up.


so in general fairly rough but it didn’t actually feel that rough in my head overall so I’ll chalk it up as a win.

Comments

  • Jezyboy
    Jezyboy Posts: 3,601

    Not sure #2 on the way should count as trivial!

    We have #1 on the way, which is a mix of terrifying and exciting.

    Cycling wise a pretty poor year, but got some enjoyable rides in over the summer, and towards the end of summer/early autumn a few longer gravel rides with the misses. Will endeavour to get on the turbo in dribs and drabs just to keep some semblance of fitness.

    Work wise, awful stressed start to the year, which resulted in lots of facetime with upper management . End of the year was going great, thought I'd managed to slopey shoulder the responsibilities I found boring, keeping the exciting ones and getting a promotion. Over the past few days a spanner has been thrown into things somewhat, but shrug.

    Lots to look forward to next year.

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    #1! Congratulations!


    your life will never be the same! (And if you want some unsolicited advice, give up on your previous life! Makes it much easier in the long run).


    Thats very exciting.


    good job sorting work out. I know it’s unfashionable to say so but work going well makes such a big difference to your life - it’s the thing you do the most, unfortunately.

  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,286

    My 2023 was mostly routine apart from ongoing problems with the executor closing my late mum's estate, involving the selling of her house (ongoing since Jan 2021). Hopefully 2024 will see the resolution of that, so 2024 might be a year when I can afford to make life changes and join @pblakeney in enjoying more time doing what I want and not being so tied to school terms, and being able to spend more time in France. With health niggles, I'm determined not to realise in retrospect that I should have taken my chance earlier to make the most of being physically and mentally able to make the most of what I've got. I suppose that's the downside of enjoying vigorous cycling and walking so much: I'm dreading the day when I can't get out and about under my own steam comfortably, and realising that so much will effectively be out of bounds.

    Anyway, today I'm going to walk up one of my little nearby mountains.

  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,878

    your life will never be the same! (And if you want some unsolicited advice, give up on your previous life! Makes it much easier in the long run).

    You'll discover the true meaning of this soon.

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    What with number two?

  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,878

    Yes

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,292

    Long story short.

    2023 was a mix of too many reminders that life is shorter than you think, along with getting the time to enjoy mine.

    Hopefully 2024 will be bereft of the former and much more of the latter.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    Yeah I’m sure. Under no illusions!

  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,806

    Doesn't feel like it's been a good year. Work has been a constant struggle which really doesn't help. 3 months off the bike after a fall in January, wife has been having troubles with her back and arythmia sending her heart rate completely haywire, long wait to get anything done. Kids are doing well though, lad graduated with excellent results, was offered a job straight away although he managed to get three months off before starting. Now he's moved out and is doing brilliantly. Daughter is in her third year at university and although getting excellent results is always fretting, her chronic fatigue is still an issue, but she's managing pretty well. The main thing is that she's happy. That's the main thing you want for your kids I find, never stop worrying about them, just the worries change over time.

    I hope 2024 is am improvement for the wife and work, fingers crossed.

  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,813

    Not a bad year although it was always going to feel a bit lacking in focus after 2022 when everything in the first half of the year was building towards my Bob Graham round.

    Had some good trips with the bike - Gran Canaria, Costa Blanca and the Pyrenees, although managed to pick up a heavy cold before the Pyrenees trip which was annoying.

    Had some great hill days too - full winter conditions in the Cairngorms in April, hot and sunny on Ardnamurchan in May. A couple of great long days out on the Lakeland fells.

    Work been relentlessly busy and very stressful at times, more of the same to come in 2024 I fear. Finished the year on a low ebb with a nasty cough and cold, nearly through it now though so onwards and upwards for 2024!

    All the best to you all.

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,461

    Pretty chilled year for me. Change of job at the end of 2022 has given me a far better work / life balance. Got my motivation back with my running and just hit my annual target of 1500 miles, picked up a load of PBs and course bests along the way. No major health issues in the family (although my eldest gave us a bit of scare needing to be admitted to hospital a few days ago but all good now). Got to enjoy a fantastic holiday. Sang on stage at two major theatres with a world class opera company.

    Really nothing to complain about (but enough trivial annoyances to keep me happy).

  • Jezyboy
    Jezyboy Posts: 3,601

    Fortunately a number of friends are expecting or have recently had kids, so at least we'll all be terrible socialising together!

  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,692

    It's been an interesting year.

    Finished the studying and as of Jan 1st I will have a new career in a new city and it finally feels like Imight be leaving the Pandemic behind me in some ways, but that's for next year.

    No major dramas and no major health scares but the studying has taken over my life this year and excercise and socialising have taken a real hit. Time to get those going again in any form.

    If anyone has some reccomendations for a new sport to do on the south coast, I'm all ears.

    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,878

    Somewhat depends where. Mountain biking would be good in Brighton. Riding horses might be good somewhere else

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,292

    Cycling? 😉

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • carbonclem
    carbonclem Posts: 1,783

    Decent year. Job and finances have remained steady. Health has been good, plenty of cycling including trips to Gran Canaria & Mallorca. Also had a great three week Asia/Indonesia holiday. Daughter graduated and got a decent job in a role utilising her degree - super proud of her. Thought I was going to lose a parent at one point but that seems to have passed for now.

    More of the same next year will be great thanks, hopefully with less Tories!

    2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner
  • Can't complain about 2023 personally. Job going well, pension investments performing well and health, bar the odd bout of Man Flu, has been good. Both offspring progressing well at Uni, albeit with nothing firm jobwise for eldest who graduates next summer. Mrs W&G has also confirmed that Canine W&G won't be replaced when her time comes. We're too old for another puppy!

    Not as much training done as last year, but as I was training for Olympic tris rather than the Marmotte, this is not unexpected. Nothing great to report competitively personally. My most memorable achievement was not drowning in the sea swim at Sunderland.

    Thankfully the offspring have provided several opportunities for vicarious sporting achievements. Eldest bagged 2nd in her age group at the British Champs at Sunderland, coincidentally being announced to the crowd as I staggered over the finish line. Youngest had some solid outings in the pool in the Uni swimming champs, with a return to "sub minute" form for the 100 freestyle after a long period wondering where her speed had gone.

    Roll on 2024, which will start for us with a ski trip!

  • Tashman
    Tashman Posts: 3,495

    Difficult to summarise.Many ups and downs. Tashboy passed his GCSEs well enough and is on his way to adulthood, Tashgirl has developed a hatred of school that is also manifesting as an eating disorder.


    Mortgage was cleared earlier in the year which is nice. Tashwife hasn't got fed up of me either. I constantly feel out of my depth and distracted at work, in-spite knowing I can do the tasks well enough and am disappearing into an anxiety spiral that I'm trying to control.

    Not been on the bike nearly as much as I'd like due to apathy and weather in the autumn. So pretty Meh really.

  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,512

    Don't know if this helps, but 2022 was fairly bad for me. My dad died in the spring and that affected work rather more than I at first realised. Which led to some difficult conversations with my colleagues (although these were ultimately helpful) and a fair bit of wondering what I was doing. This year has been much better and I think one thing that helped rebuild confidence at work was focusing on 2 or 3 key things that I could check off each month rather than trying to fix everything at once.

    I've almost completely sacked off cycling last year, so hope to start to add that back this year.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • Not too bad a 2023. Was in NZ until March, finished the Tour Aotearoa. Cycled John Muir Way with friends, more cycling with a local group, trip to Rugby WC in France in the MH, my best friend died in December from a rare autoimmune blood disorder which was a bit of a shock. Rest of family ok and a new step grandson born.

    NZ step family.over for Christmas and NY which has been a good end to the year.