Farewell, 2012 …

The end of the year is upon us, and thus the moment has come for my annual count of all the things I've failed to achieve since this time last year. Only, right now I don't feel like beating myself up over what I have or (mostly) haven't done. OK, I didn't write anything like every day (which was my one aim for 2012). OK, so my writing has mostly taken a back seat this year. But you know what? Some pretty amazing other stuff has happened.

The main event, of course, was the birth of my first child. And what a life-changing event it's been. In fact, in terms of sheer impact, I can't think of anything else I've done that even comes close. Leaving home? Pah. Getting married? A mere blip in comparison. Sometimes I've felt like the real-world equivalent of an orphaned farm boy being given a sword and told to go out and kick some Dark Lord butt: dazed, confused and battling with something way out of my comfort zone. The only difference is, I'm loving it* … when I'm not wandering around in a state of sleep-deprived zombification.

The arrival of Baby Smith also resulted in an explosion of pushchairs, play mats and various other brightly coloured contraptions we'd been told were indispensable to his well-being. Once we got to the point where we couldn't remember what colour our carpets were, we decided it was time to move. As a consequence, not only will I be starting 2013 in a larger family, I'll also be starting it in a larger house. Yay for super-sizing!**

On the writing front, I may not have got very far with any of my works-in-progress or found much time for querying my finished manuscripts. But I have managed to write blog posts on a semi-regular basis, which is something. I've welcomed guests here, appeared on their blogs in turn, and started a new weekly interview series – plus I also completed the A to Z Challenge in April. Not much, perhaps, but at least I haven't forgotten how to string words together in a logical order (despite how it seemed just after Baby Smith was born).

So there you have it: 2012. A year of change for me, but how was it for you? Please feel free to share your achievements with me in the comments section – both great and small. Because, as I've discovered this year, the little successes can sometimes make you feel just as good as the big ones.



* That, and I'm not going to save the world by changing nappies.

** I probably won't be so happy about it when I realise that I'm also starting 2013 with a larger proportion of fat. Damn Christmas chocolates.