Hello, my dear readers! The end of the year is approaching, which means it’s time to look back at what happened in my life over the past twelve months. I won’t hide it — it’s been a year full of surprises, both good and bad.

There were a few moments when, for some unknown reason, I didn’t use the intelligence I have. Some of them were so unexpected that I don’t even know what their consequences will be in the future. But I won’t dwell on the ones I’d rather forget — why bother? Instead, I’ll focus on the things that brought me joy or at least gave me something positive to think about.

Let me start by saying that this year I discovered some new passions, which I treat as hobbies, but which give me a lot of satisfaction. The first one is gardening. Yes, this year I set up a small vegetable garden in the city, where I grow delicious things. Not only is it relaxing, but I also get fresh vegetables on my plate. And most importantly, I don’t have to worry, because everything is organic. I can’t wait for spring!

The second passion I discovered this year is writing. I’ve always liked writing nonsense, but I never took it seriously. Now I write on my blog, which you’re reading right now, about everything that interests me. And what interests me? Everything uninteresting. I tend to underestimate myself and label things I do as uninteresting from the start. Sounds weird, right? But I enjoy writing about things that are boring, trivial, obvious, or just make no sense. Try writing something interesting about bottle caps — which is my next passion that I’ll talk about. Not easy, right? And I like making life difficult for myself.

Yes, my third passion is collecting bottle caps. Don’t ask me where it came from, because I don’t know. It started sometime in 2012. I just began collecting bottle caps and I have no intention of stopping. This year I finally got around to sorting all the caps. I also made a catalog on the blog. It’s very time-consuming, but also extremely satisfying. I have tons of caps — actually, more than I can handle — so this work will take several months. Maybe one day I’ll make an exhibition out of them, or write a book. Or maybe not.

But that’s not all that filled my time this year. There were other things worth mentioning. For example, the holidays. This year I took the whole family — my spouse, the kids, and their grandparents — for a week of rest in the forest by a lake. It was beautiful, although the weather wasn’t great. Rain poured down, but it didn’t ruin our mood. I also read a nice book there, which was my only chance to read this year. Still, it was worth it.

This year, we also introduced our first step toward healthy habits as a family. We started going to the swimming pool once a week. It’s really good for our health and for our relationship. It’s always fun, and we always have something to talk about. I don’t know if it will affect our weight or fitness, but it definitely affects our well-being.

That’s it for my 2023 recap. I don’t know what 2024 will bring, but I hope it will be just as good — or even better. I also have a few plans for the new year, but I’ll write about them in the next post. How about you? How do you rate your year? What brought you joy, and what made you sad? What did you discover, and what did you forget? Share your thoughts in the comments! Don’t let life wear you down!