A Year of Loss and Reflection
I don't usually do these year-in-review posts, but 2024 feels different. It's been a year that's taught me a lot about family, loss, and finding bright spots in unexpected places.
The year kicked off with losing my grandfather. He was a brilliant man who loved his maths and puzzles, and you'd always find him following cricket and local football. Even though we knew it was coming, it still hit hard. He was stubborn about staying independent right until the end.
You know, no one really tells you how to handle having elderly grandparents. Their generation went through wars and hardship, and it shows in how they approach life. They've got this pride about them that makes it tricky - they don't want help, and they're not big on showing emotions. It can make things complicated sometimes especially when trying to bridge generational gaps.
Six months later, we lost my grandmother too. She was 93 and tough as nails, having lived through the war too. She passed away at home, just like she wanted, though it meant my aunt had to find her after a few days of digital silence. Like my grandad, she was determined not to be a burden on anyone - though honestly, she never was.
One of the last things we talked about was her favorite saying: "You can do anything you put your mind to." It's simple, but it's stuck with me.
I miss them both, but I'm also really grateful for all the time we had together. Having my family around during all of this has been a massive help.
What's New at Work
Twelve years in tech and I'm still finding new things to get excited about! Lately, I've been diving into 3D development and AI stuff. I've just started playing around with Three.js (shoutout to Three.js Journey), and it's pretty impressive what you can create. And I'm just touching the surface of it all.
Work's been good - we've pushed out some big projects this year, including making headway on the Pensions Dashboard. I've also been getting really into our internal design system, tweaking it and helping others use it better. I also dabbled in tech leadership, and if you're curious about that, you can read about it in my tech lead post.
Getting Stronger (Literally!)
2024's also been the year I got serious about fitness. What started as "ugh, my back hurts" turned into "hey, I actually love this!" If you want the full story, check out my post about my fitness journey. It's funny how something that started as physio has turned into one of my favorite parts of the day. Currently I'm aiming for 250 gym visits this year.
The gym has actually helped me level up in other areas too - better focus at work, handling stress better, all that important stuff.
What's Next?
Looking ahead to 2025, I've got a few things I want to tackle:
- Get better at 3D web
- Keep building up our internal design system
- Push myself to try new things in web development
- Keep up the gym momentum
I think my grandparents would get a kick out of seeing me chase after all these goals. Their "you can do anything" attitude definitely rubbed off on me.
It's been quite a year - lots of ups and downs, but I'm coming out of it stronger (both literally and figuratively!). Here's to whatever 2025 throws my way! 🚀