The main problem with writing this blog post is that a discerning reader may point out the fact that I wrote only two other posts on this site in 2022. (See this one entitled ‘Things I liked in 2021’.)

I’ll own it. I’ve been busy, as you’ll read below. But it’s still worth making a list of the things I liked in the last 12 months, because there were many of them. (Also, I have plans for this blog in 2023, so stay tuned*.)

READING

With a job entirely consisting of reading and writing, I feel like I haven’t have the brain space for much good reading in 2022. Whenever I had a few days of holidays I grabbed a pile of books from the library and felt excited by them but it seemed like a lot of hard work to take myself to the library to get more when busy-busy life began again.

However, I did discover the online library app this year, and within it, the wonderful, wonderful Thursday Murder Club series by Bruce Osman.

Elderly friends, led by the inimitable Elizabeth, a former spy with more confidence than anyone should rightly have, solve murders and put the world to rights.

The characters are beautifully drawn and if you can get the series on audiobook read by Lesley Manville, she brings them completely to life! If you loved the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series you’ll be a fan of these.

PODCASTS

I’ve become a trope: the middle aged woman who loves a true crime podcast. It began in 2021 with The Teachers Pet by investigative journalist Hedley Thomas. In 2022 I was transfixed by The Teachers Trial, the next part of the story where the guy Hedley Thomas said was the murderer, turned out to be the murderer, and was tried and convicted in a Sydney courtroom.

I hopped on board the train of The Lady Vanishes podcast soon after I had listened to everything else Hedley Thomas had ever made (massive forensics scandal in Queensland, anyone?) and similarly, found that the story of missing woman Marion Barter had progressed so far that things were in the middle of a very-interesting-indeed inquest. I’m checking back in regularly to see what the outcome is.

TV/FILM

Do I watch too much TV? Almost certainly. Perhaps there will be less of that in 2023, but I justify it by telling myself it’s good for my storytelling and scriptwriting chops. (The husband and I follow the ‘ten minute rule’. If it hasn’t grabbed us in the first ten minutes, we let it go. There’s too much bad TV and film in the world to persist with something you don’t love.)

The Recruit. A new series about a young lawyer for the CIA who finds himself embroiled in drama on his second day, and keeps having his suits ruined. The humour was subtle and came largely from the transactional relationships around him.

Ray and Raymond A good slow burn about two middle aged brothers (Ewan McGregor and my all-time favourite actor Ethan Hawke) who go home for their father’s funeral. That’s a cliche in itself, but this film turns it a little on its head by not making things too schmaltzy.

The Morning Show Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are either fighting with each other or everyone around them in this exploration of media, #metoo and cancel culture. It’s clunky at times, and season 1 is way better than season 2 but it was engaging and well made and I stayed with it to the end.

Parental Levels: Unlocked

Emptying our nest. We’ve been sans our eldest daughter on and off since she finished high school five years ago and spent a few years away from home at uni. In 2022, after more than a year living with us as a young adult she moved out again — for good!

And I did not cry.

It’s not because we want her gone - we love having her around! But there’s a joy in seeing her become a competent, confident adult with her own life and her own plans and her own friends. I’m a big fan of adult children finding their own spaces. Children are on loan to us, and we have the responsibility to help them become independent.

Complete: 75% of learner driver hours. Surely no-one likes teaching their children to drive? And surely no-one enjoys slogging through the 120 hours of L-plate practice? The only consolation I could bring myself this year was the thought at least we don’t have twins. Sorry to those of you who do. But in 2022 we completed teaching 3 out of 4 children to drive. And there’s a nice big gap until it’s time to teach the fourth.

Parenting goals met with the introduction of Jane. For several years now, I’ve been devastated that our youngest has refused to have anything to do with the story of Pride and Prejudice. My older daughter and I are big fans (I mean, obviously, right?) and for some time we were co-conspirators in trying to get the little sister involved, but her disinterest was steadfast. This Christmas, however, I saw an abridged version of the book for sale and purchased it, subtly packaging it with a Harry Potter title, and adding promises that if she didn’t like it we could take it back.

I waited. She read it.

I held my breath. She liked it.

We watched the entire BBC series. She fell in love.

And that’s all I now need to do. Forever. Parenting level infinity: unlocked.

LEARNING

For this come-late-to-it, newbie career woman, 2022 was possibly the most professionally stretching year I’ve had. Which I liked a lot but which has also been… a lot.

When you work for yourself, nothing matters too much. Now I’m in marketing and communications in the not-for-profit sector. When you work for clients and there’s real money at stake and real deadlines to reach, things matters more. And things that matter more add stress.

So, along with learning all of the things like team leadership, the technical aspects of marketing, time management and budgets, figuring out ways to manage my stress has been important this year. Which, I suppose, can only be a good thing, and therefore I liked it.

Shoe cOLLECTIng

If 2021 was the year I discovered Fluevog shoes, 2022 was the year I embraced my inner shoe diva and began a collection of colourful, unique footwear that seems to have delighted (and possibly appalled… I’m never quite sure) our lovely congregation.

“What shoes are you wearing today?” is a commonly asked question on a Sunday morning, followed by look at my feet, a big grin, some shaking of the head and the follow-up: “Where do you get these things?”

‘From the only Fluevog shop in Australia, in Melbourne’, is the answer. At least, for a few of my wonderful pairs. Not all, because those things are flippin’ expensive. The others are bargain second-hand (second-foot?) finds discovered during my regular online searches. Like my continued weekly habit of entering the Hamilton lottery for $10 tix (yeah, I’ll get myself to Melbourne if I win them, watch and see if I don’t), I’m committed to the process of collecting Fluevogs. When I see the right shoe for the right price, I seize the day!

And no, I’m not Imelda Marcos. I am not the wife of a dictator of an Asian country, and besides, she and I have very different taste. And yes, all the shoes above are currently in my collection.

PUBLISHING and authory stuff

Busy job = not much time to write this year, but my co-author Penny and I managed to put out a new Pet Sitters title for young readers age 5-8, in print, ebook and audiobook formats.

Train Trouble features the main characters in dress-ups, dealing with an ever-increasing number of very cute and very fluffy… mice. It just may be my favourite Pet Sitters story yet.

I was also lucky enough to be invited to speak at the annual conference of the Australian Christian Librarians Association and received a few author-talk invitations over the following months. In one of these, I visited the very best managed classroom of all time, a lovely Year 3 group in Brisbane, which was a joy to teach writing to. It almost made me want to become a teacher… but not really.

middle age

My lovely husband turned 50 this year, which I liked, because I like him, but also, I like the age. In fact, I think I’m going to like turning 50 myself in 2023 (obvs, we’ll see as it gets closer).

What I like about 50 is the ‘dont really care that much’ factor that seems to come with it.

Yes, I still care about the world. I care about people, and justice, and doing good, and loving well. But I don’t really care about things like looking stupid if I wear my outlandish shoes. I like them, and that’s enough. I don’t mind if people think I’m crazy for seeing Hamilton six times. I just really like it, and I’ll prioritise it.

I care much less than I ever did about people being upset with me. That used to loom large. Now I feel like I’m clear-eyed enough to see my part in the situation, apologise for what I need to, and leave the rest to the person who’s upset.

Happy New Year, reader. And I’d love to hear what you liked in 2022.

*You made it all the way down to see what my plans are for this blog? Oh, reader, you are delightful and I appreciate your interest.

The plan is this: an interview series called What my friends think I’m good at. I’ll be discussing with all sorts of people in all sorts of situations what it means to be good at something. If you’d like to volunteer - or if you have a friend you’d like to volunteer, send me a message. I’d love to hear from you.