2012 - That Was The Year That Was
Our year starts and ends with the Christmas holidays. So looking back over the last 12 months I find that this year's Christmas was much like last year's! Family, food, fun, and rest - the recipe for a Mulligan Christmas.
We had a couple of short breaks over the summer. We joined friends from Napier to help celebrate their daughter Sara's wedding, which was delightful, and it was interesting to catch up with so many of Trish & Marty's family and friends, who we've met over the years.
While that trip was a 'family' outing, a few days in Rotorua was a trip on our own - a week of doing not much at all, but a bit of walking, gallery visiting, soaking in the hot pools (for Desiree) and enjoying the nice weather.
And then, to make a trifecta of trips, we went to Melbourne for a long weekend with Jayne & Jack. Ostensibly it was an opportunity to see an impressive exhibition of modern art to help Jayne with her Art History studies at University, which we did, and thoroughly enjoyed. But it was also a fun couple of days, staying in the heart of Melbourne's Chinatown, and seeing things we remembered from an earlier trip in 2001 with Charlotte & Jayne.
That set me up for a rested and refreshed start to the year. Unfortunately, in March, things took a turn for the worse. My GP sent me to a heart specialist who quickly determined I had a blocked artery near my heart. The treatment was not especially radical: a stent to be inserted. That completed in a hospital visit of a single day, I was told to expect to be up and about by the end of the weekend. Which turned out to be nearly true.
It seems that the plug used to seal the gap in an artery through which the stent was inserted should have stayed in place but didn't. That meant I now had an artery blocked just below a knee. Which necessitated an urgent hospital visit, surgery, two days in hospital and then more time while I hobbled back to 'normal'.
All of which came as something of a shock, as I have had no health problems beyond the usual colds and strains over the years.
Last year the 'centrepiece' event was Charlotte & Gareth's wedding. This year we had Jayne's 21st birthday to celebrate. Being thoughtful and considerate (of her aged parents!) and conscious she and her friends would make a long night of the event, Jayne wanted a venue in the central city. So that's how it panned out - a modern bar, no catering hassles for us, walk-in, walk-out! We had our own in-family DJ (Gareth), speeches, gifts, and Jayne's inimitable decorative touches (Instax photos hung on twisty willow branches to dry)! The evening was great fun, and it was great to see all her friends, and how really lovely they are.
Oh, and I had put together a collection of photos of her, which we played throughout the evening, and which I had also compiled into a hard-cover book. That's it just beside this text. Check the preview if you'd like!
Self-publishing books like this is my new 'passion'. It is an outlet for the tiny modicum of creative talent I have. In addition to Jayne's, I have now put together books for the Irish Society (2), the NZ Rose of Tralee, Sarah and Charlotte's weddings, and one of a collection of photos of my parents family.
And there are more in the works!
I have also returned to my family histories this year. These have been ongoing projects for both Desiree & I for many years now, and I have got a lot of the content to a state in which it can be published online. But this year I have turned my attention to the military service of the young men (for example in World War One), and of the references to specific individuals in contemporary newspapers.
These can bring some interesting elements to light - I have discovered, for example, that James Mulligan (my great-grandfather) was an office-holder in the Loyal Orange Institution (the Orange Lodge, in other words), while one of his sons was twice decorated for bravery in WWI.
The product of this latest period of research will, in due course, become hard-copy books, celebrating our (various) family histories.
I continue to work editing and managing content for a government website, during the day, while tending to numerous projects (family history, self-publishing, the Irish Society) at evenings and weekends. Desiree is still teaching, keeping our family in touch, and has become a prolific tweeter and follower of Instagram photos, and has begun learning Maori as a second language.
So, if that's what we're up to, what about the kids? Sarah and Craig continue to lead busy lives in the city, still with the aim of returning to London, sooner rather than later. Charlotte has returned to university to study linguistics, while Gareth does contract programming to pay for his preferred career of musician. And Jayne has just finished her under-graduate degree in English, and will be doing Honours this year, before tackling teacher-training.
Portraits of us as we were, once - and not so long ago at that!
And that sums up our year: another stage in the cycle - renewal, death (although not this year, thank heavens!), celebration, and family routines.
So what does 2013 hold for us? Early on, there is a number of (brief) trips - Auckland to see the Breakers play; Auckland (again) for Andrew & Emma's wedding; and Sydney in the first school holidays. I also plan to go to Invercargill & Dunedin on 'family history' business; and we've got a couple of concerts to attend - Band of Horses and Neil Young. And then in July, Desiree is of to Vietnam with another school group. If that sounds a tad 'self-indulgent' - you're probably right, as Jayne is moving into a flat close to University in February, so it's Desiree & me, and the cats and bird at home!
I try to keep a record of our year, and occasionally give vent to commentary on events. Keep in touch if you'd like.
We hope 2013 brings you all peace, prosperity and contentment.