We know we know, we have “been back” a few times these past few months/years. But life tends to throw curve balls that we really don’t know how to cope with and the blog unfortunately takes a back seat. But for now, we’re here, we’re present, and we want to share everything we’ve been up to, we’ve learned, and we’ve pondered over.
~~~ Sheena ~~~
After the chaos of 2020, 2021 feels like it was just as much of a whirlwind of a year, mostly because it just flew by. How is it almost over? The funny thing is, for me, it’s been business as usual. Compared to Nina and Dipti who have had life changing experiences, I feel like this past year has been a gradual extension of me living my best life – a promise I had made to myself when I turned 40. I am happy, fulfilled, grounded, and most of all feeling grateful that my family and I have our health and sanity in a world where it’s been quite hard to hold on to those things. But the frosting on my cake has been adding baby girl Dedhia (Dipti’s but really mine) to the mix, it completed me in a way I never knew I needed and I am so grateful for her (and the other 8 monkeys too).
After quarantine cancellations, I have been able to enjoy some EPIC trips with friends and family (as I’m sure you saw on my IG if you follow me). Holmdel feels more and more like the place we were always meant to be. It finally feels like “home” for me, Sammy and mostly the boys. As everyone has been settling comfortably this past year and trying to get back into the swing of things, I have had an opportunity to focus more on myself. I have thought about what I would like to do career wise, where I want to be in 5 years, and what life after the kids go to college (because they will all be gone almost at the same time) will look like. It’s still a work in progress, but in the meantime, I’m filling those buckets one at a time. I’m just continuing to take every moment for itself and enjoying it all without regret – life is just too short not to!
~~~ Nina ~~~
My, my what a year so far! I graduated from my doctoral studies at Yale and I’m now Dr. Nina Vaid Raoji! What an achievement – sometimes I need to pinch myself to make sure it’s all real. But when I think about all the work I put into it, I know it’s real, all right!
But with such achievement came my own high expectations of “do I need a job or don’t I need a job” and “can I pursue my passion project?” This led me down a journey of self-discovery where I really took some time to reflect and understand exactly what I wanted. It started with going solo on a silent retreat at The Art of Living in North Carolina. What an experience! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for clarity or to settle their monkey brain which does not let up. While there, I found a deeper realization that what I want to focus on in this next chapter of my life. I want to impact the lives of as many as I can through the knowledge and experience that I have acquired over the past 20 years. More on how I plan to do that in upcoming posts!
Speaking of, I am also turning 40 this month! So I decided I want to start living life to the fullest. I made one of my first wishes to go on a trip with just the five of us and we did it!!! We went to beautiful Sedona (more coming soon). I have smaller trips planned with close girlfriends, a fun night with the ladies, and will round It off with a special trip with my littles and hubby. I have so much to share in terms of personal growth and things that I have tried, read, experienced, and let go of, that have helped me open up to this next chapter called FOUR-OH. Cannot wait to share all of this with all of you!
~~~ Dipti ~~~
Have I had a whirlwind of a time to share with you! As you know, I started working after taking a break to be with the boys. I finally found my dream job and, not to toot my own horn, I’m killing it! We also moved! We went from Suburbia to South Suburbia! It has been a huge adjustment for us being so far away from the siblings (and by far, I mean an hour <eye roll>), but we’re very close to my in-laws who are God-sent with all the help! Speaking of God-sent, we also welcomed the most precious angel into our lives – Zuri Vaid Dedhia. She is now 9 months old and showing her brothers who’s boss. She is the brightest light in this darkness and we are so incredibly lucky to have her.
Personally, I decided that despite being in my dream job, which allowed me to work from home through most of the pandemic, going back to full-time in person with Zuri at home wasn’t right for me or her. I had to make the extremely difficult and heart wrenching decision to quit my job. I know that being home is going to be worth it – to see my last baby grow up, to be able to bring the boys home before 6pm (first ones at school, last ones to leave under the old schedule), and be able to give some time to learning to cook more, is something I know I won’t regret! Sure, it’s unfortunate that we have to make these decisions sometimes but hey, the silver lining is that I get to give more time to this blog! We’ve gotten so many requests over the past couple of months asking us to start blogging again so we thought this might be a good time as everyone figures out what their new normal is. We want to be a part of that and help in any way we can!
