Memories of 2022

Hello everyone, hope all is going well at your end. If the times are hard then please stay strong as this too shall pass. And remember, better days are just around the corner. This is what that’s keeping me going in the past few months. Nothing lasts forever, not even the grief. Eventually, we learn to move on. But one thing that we carry with us forever are the memories we collect on this journey called life. I still can’t believe that the year 2022 is about to end and in a month we will be entering the new year focusing on the new beginnings. But before getting ready to welcome the year 2023 I want to stop and look back at the memories of 2022 and preserve them forever in my heart.

Ever since the Covid entered our lives I learned to embrace not just the good memories but also the ‘not so good’ ones as they make us humble and act as a reminder that all things are not in our hands. Most importantly, we learn to include gratitude in our daily lives. So, today, I want to share my 11 Memories of 2022 with you all and give you a glimpse of our life which we could not share on social media.

Before moving ahead, I want to flaunt this new badge I received as this post has been selected as the Top Post on Blogchatter. Yay!!!

Memory 1

New Year Trip with Family

The first and the most beautiful memory is the one from when we entered the year 2022. So, I have a belief that if I start my first day of the new year doing what I like doing the most then there’s a greater chance that I will continue doing that all year round. And, that’s why I make efforts to plan a trip around that time with my family. So, on 1st Jan 2022, I was with my family, my husband, my son and my mother, in Lansdowne, doing what I love doing the most and that is to connect with nature.

 

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A post shared by Neha Sharma (@growing_with_nemit)

But as I said not all memories are great, there are some hiccups in good memories too. So, while we were in Lansdowne we wanted to extend our trip and travel further North to experience the snowfall. But since my mother doesn’t like too much cold she wanted to go back home. Hence, we had to cut short our trip and return back.

Lansdowne Family Trip

However, as you may have heard that every cloud has a silver lining so we found ours too. And, this leads us to our second precious memory.

Memory 2 of 11 Memories of 2022

Our First Snowfall

January was the most thrilling time in my life when we were able to pull off back to back trips within the 1st week only. We came back home from a 5-Day long New Year’s trip only to unpack and pack again for another exciting trip. We had only 1 day to finalize the place and make the final bookings. And, guess what, we did it!

We got to see our life’s first ever snowfall in the Koti Village. It was not just the snowfall but it was my first experience of driving in the snow as well. Those 4 days were magical, it felt like I was in heaven. I didn’t want those days to end.

 

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A post shared by Sumit Kumar (@sumit_kumar1882)

But as I said earlier good times don’t last forever. Unfortunately, we too had to ran into many challenges during that time. The biggest challenge was to survive in the snow as we had not packed the appropriate bottoms and boots. And, that’s the reason we had to check out a day earlier only to get stuck in the snow because of flat tyre in the middle of nowhere.

Again, we knew that it will not last longer and we will find our happy bubble soon.

Memory 3 

Nemit’s 6th Birthday

We have a very simple rule, every year on Nemit’s birthday we plan a special trip to a beautiful destination.

In 2021, we could not travel due to the covid restrictions. But, his grandmothers made the day special by visiting us and staying with us for Nemit’s birthday.

But, in 2022, we couldn’t plan anything for his special day. There were strict restrictions in Delhi NCR due to the new Corona variant. We 3 were feeling so alone at home. Even though we have decorated the house, arranged for his cake & gifts, there was still a void somewhere.

And, then something unbelievable happened. During the online class, Nemit’s teacher asked him to cut the cake with all his classmates. It was totally unexpected as teachers don’t do that usually. Also, this has never happened before.

 

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A post shared by Neha Sharma (@growing_with_nemit)

It was a beautiful gesture which made our day super memorable. She even played the songs and everybody danced and had a lot of fun. We are truly grateful to Sonam Ma’am for bringing that big smile on Nemit’s face.

Memory 4 of 11 Memories of 2022

Back to Offline School

Until Feb 2022, Nemit had never been to a formal school. He used to go to the Klay Prep Schools. But, when it was time to join a formal school, coronavirus entered our lives locking us inside our homes. So, his first classroom experience was online. Finally, after 2 years, in February 2022, his school started the classes in hybrid mode. Even though I had my doubts about it, Nemit was pretty sure he wanted to go to school. His teachers adored him and he was loved by all his friends.

 

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A post shared by Neha Sharma (@growing_with_nemit)

His first day was super fun and he came back with a big smile on his face. What else could a parent ask for?

However, our dream cloud burst sooner than we expected with the realities of traditional teaching and school’s over the top expectations from their students. The kids were not even allowed a transition time to settle down  properly. The teachers wanted them to sit quietly at one place for long hours. They were discouraged to talk to each other even during the break time. Moreover, kids were not even allowed to take water and washroom breaks.

In my opinion, the school failed miserably at meeting the needs of the children who were coming back to the school after a gap of 2 years.

 

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A post shared by Neha Sharma (@growing_with_nemit)

Still, we waited for things to settle down. But to our horror, everything just went down from the next month.

By April, there were riots happening in the parent’s WhatsApp group, everyone was furious to see their kids suffering. But no one was ready to go and talk to the teachers or even set up a meeting with the Principal.

I lost it the day Nemit told me that some teacher threatened him to lock him in the washroom if he will ask for a break.

This is child abuse for me even if it sounds harmless to others. I could not take it anymore. Those 2 months were the hardest on me to see my child suffering. I have never felt this helpless.

But again we found a ray of hope in all this madness and we decided to move out of our comfort zone.

Memory 5

Bangalore Visit, School & House Hunting

So, Sumit had started a new job in January with a company which is located in Bangalore and we hoped that it will continue WFH for 2022 as well.

But then in April, his company announced hybrid working mode beginning from June. Initially, we were so confused as we couldn’t think of relocating when the school year as already begun. And, there was no chance we would let Sumit go alone leaving us here.

However, the chaos happening at Nemit’s school gave us a chance to consider this opportunity. So, we decided to visit Bengaluru for a few days.

Delhi to Bengaluru Flight and Over tensed Us

And, when we got to know that the school session begins from June in Bangalore, we took it as a sign.

We landed in Bangalore with zero hopes but it impressed me the moment we got out of the airport. The weather in April was so calming I can’t tell you, I have never felt this good in Delhi during this time of the year.

I had done some homework regarding the schools near Sumit’s office. And, while researching about the education system in Bangalore, I got to know about the Alternative Schools.

I always wanted Nemit to experience the Montessori way of learning.

So, we shortlisted some Montessori Schools and started house hunting around those schools.

But, in Bangalore, looking for a house is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even after a week, we haven’t found a decent house. I was so heartbroken to see all our time, money and efforts going down the drain. I came here with no hopes but by that time I had already fallen in love with the city.

There was one apartment very near to one of the schools which I liked the most but there were no vacant flats in that building.

But guess what, on the 9th day, we received a call from a broker asking us to see a flat in the same apartment. We couldn’t believe our luck. Bangalore here we come!

Memory 6 of 11 Memories of 2022

Fake Challans & FIR

We have lived in Noida for 7 years in the same apartment building. And, we have made infinite memories in that house. But I was the most happiest one leaving that place. At one moment, I actually felt bad for not feeling any emotions leaving that house. In fact, I was more upset about not being able to meet my mother whenever I want to once we move to Bangalore.

But she assured us that she will keep visiting us whenever she’s free from her Satsang duties. And, I knew there’s nothing that could stop me from visiting her if I miss her or if she wants to see us.

Everything was going well until one day when we received a couple of challans for our vehicle. However, after checking all the details we find out that the challans were wrong. It seemed like someone else was using the same license plate as ours. We had to sort this out before moving our vehicle to another State.

Online Challan

Then started a 2-week long struggle to prove that the vehicle image shown in the challans was not ours. We sent mails to the concerned authorities but didn’t get any reply. We then filed an FIR if in case something goes wrong we should not be held responsible.

The police was not ready to take any action so we took the matter in our hands. We visited the Delhi Traffic Police Headquarters and presented our case with all the proofs. In that moment, my life felt like a part of some Bollywood movie. It was also the time when I started doubting my decision to relocate to Bangalore.

You won’t believe what happened when we met the officials at the DTP HQs.

They actually listened to us, gave us their time, understood our problem and helped us sort out the issue. The issue was not the fake number plate but the low resolution CCTV image captured at night time. It was the system error and they rectified it immediately.

I was so happy that day that I had tears in my eyes, knowing that even a common person can be treated fairly in this corrupted world. They didn’t make us wait, they didn’t ask for a bribe and they treated us with all respect. All this still feels like a dream!

And, a special mention that I got a chance to be inside the Delhi’s main traffic control room. I have never seen such big screens in my life streaming live traffic footage from all over Delhi.

It is a memory I don’t want to forget ever.

I want to pause this post here with these 6 memories from a list of 11 memories of 2022 and continue with the next 5 memories in Part 2 of this blog.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterBlogHop!

What is your most favorite memory of the year 2022? Share with us in the comments below.