The last 5 years have been quite intense, and sometimes difficult. Thankfully it had nothing to do with money or physical well being, but everything to do with emotional and mental well being. After living in Italy for 12 years, we left. I went back to uni, whilst at the same time moving to Switzerland. I left my friends, my support networks - everything. Remember this was before facebook and the other social networking sites. Being plunged into Oxford life was great, but also quite mentally draining. It was a terrific period in my life: divided between fierce academic competition and nostalgia for my ex-life.
In between all this, there was Stuart and my life in Switzerland. Twenty-twenty hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I now realise that my lack of energy and enthusiasm for living there was depleted because all my energy was invested in my nostalgia.
When we moved to Boston, I realised that I had 'wasted' my time in Switzerland, and at the beginning of last year, I decided that I would make up for all that lost time by living 5 years in 1. I am happy to say that 2009 has been a wonderful, hectic and very happy year for me. I made some wonderful friends in Boston, cemented my relationships with my friends in Switzerland, found the right place in my life for my friends in Italy, learned to ride a bike, did 3 triathlons, did 2 half marathons, have some terrific colleagues.....I am very thankful that I have had this chance to live this year and 'catch up' my lost time.
I am looking forward to 2010...it is going to be a fabulous year. I am still working on my running goals for next year, and will post those when I am back home. In the meantime, I am excited about my Christmas pressies - they were exactly what I wanted: a pair of Karhu stability shoes and an Oxford Uni rugby shirt. Stuart and I put a 200 USD limit on how much we were going to spend this year. I got him a money clip and a Bruins jacket.
I totally agree we have to meet. We have so much in common. Your thesis sounds interesting and I'm sure that does raise a couple eyebrows when mentioned.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend loves rugby and it sounds like you do too. I know practially nothing but I did just see the movie Invictus, which was really interesting.
My training is going well. I have 6 weeks, 3 days until the race. I'll be glad when the holidays are done since I tend to eat poorly.
Have a safe and Happy New Year.
This statement here is very true and insightful. " I now realise that my lack of energy and enthusiasm for living there was depleted because all my energy was invested in my nostalgia."
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