We are now drifting into December and most of 2024 is over. This got me thinking about the year that just passed. The past 12 months have been a big blur and they all seem to blend together.
In January of 2024 a dear friend of mine had finally succumbed to a five year battle with cancer. I was staying with family in the Toronto area at the time. With her passing and the pending funeral service I decided to head back home to Ottawa. Her passing was my first major event of 2024. I hadn’t been home in several months and except for a brief stint in the Fall of 2023. While my return to Ottawa was precipitated by a somber occasion, I was glad to be home after such a long time.
Being home allowed me to take long walks in my neighborhood and really enjoy where I live. It’s a mature downtown area that’s a mix of older homes with character and newer infills that bring a modern flavour to the neighborhood. In January 2024 I also returned to my gym for workouts and rehab exercises. I am able to walk to the gym as it is about half a kilometre from my home. My workouts at the gym are a combination of strength rehab exercises and cardiovascular exercises. When I first returned to the gym and resumed workouts I received a warm welcome from the staff; that was heart-warming.
In February 2024 I began an out-patient physiotherapy session at a rehab hospital; the same hospital where I had done my in-patient physiotherapy sessions in 2023; the therapists were great and I made progress with my strength and my range of motion. These sessions lasted for eight weeks, and when they were completed I had exhausted all of the physiotherapy treatments that were available to me under the Ontario Health Care system. I still had rehab and recovery to do so I sought out private physiotherapy.
In the Spring of 2024 I began physiotherapy at a private clinic that was recommended to me by several people. I am still doing physiotherapy sessions there and am seeing progress in my range of motion and in my finger dexterity. I plan to continue these sessions indefinitely as they help me show improvement in my left side, and the physiotherapist there is also giving me exercises that I can do at home or at the gym.
Because of a health issue that struck me in the Summer of 2023, I was no longer working. As a result I faced a challenge in that I had too much free time or whitespace on my calendar. I was really struggling with not having work-related things to do. I felt like I was lacking a purpose. It took me nine months to figure it out but in late September 2024 I realized that if I began writing everyday I would be producing something of value, to me at least, and we could see where I could take this project - like a business venture. Since October 1,2024 I have been writing every day, either for a book , or for a weekly article like this that I publish on my website, shailpaliwal.com. To start writing has given me a daily purpose, and allowed me to be happy about what I have accomplished at the end of each day.
My favourite pro hockey team is my hometown Ottawa Senators and we are strong supporters of the team. My older son is a season-ticket holder and he took me to a game in October 2024. It was a thrill to see the game live and to experience it with my son. This is coming full circle for us because 24 years ago we had season tickets and would take my son to the games with us. He would be in a baby sleeper and sometimes we’d transport him to our seats at the game in a car seat bucket. And now here he was two decades later taking his dad to the Sens game. Going to that game earlier in the year was a checklist item for me. I’d go to a handful of Sens games each season and I wanted to ensure I still had the strength and stamina to attend games in person. Mission accomplished.
Sidenote - my Ottawa Senators did not make the NHL playoffs in the Spring of 2024. Hope springs eternal for the 2025 playoffs!
Sidenote 2 - my Boston Red Sox did not make the MLB playoffs in the Fall of 2024. Hope springs eternal for the 2025 playoffs!
Before my health issue hit me, I was a big concert goer, attending as many rock/metal concerts as I could (yes, I never outgrew my high school taste in music). I would always get tickets that were as close to the stage as possible. Watching concerts from there allowed me to connect with the band and feel the vibe they were giving off during the show. It also meant standing for a long time. Before my health issues my legs were strong and so standing while watching concerts was not a problem. My health issues left me weak overall and not as strong as I used to be in my left leg. So on my recovery checklist was going to a concert, even if it was attending in the seats. Again my older son accompanied me to see Bruce Springsteen in Ottawa in November 2024. I had already seen Springsteen twice but he’s now in his mid seventies and who knows how many major tours he has left. My son really wanted to see him, so of course I went to the show with him! Our tickets were in the seats and that helped me enjoy the show. So while we didn’t see Springsteen from the floor I still thoroughly enjoyed the concert and enjoyed the evening with my son. Again mission accomplished.
In November 2024 the United States held their General Election and to my surprise at least, Donald Trump was elected President, and eventually the Republicans took the majority of the seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In a relatively short period of time I thought Kamala Harris ran an admirable campaign. The contrast between her and Donald Trump were so obvious, the choice for a better suited President seemed clear cut. I guess not. I won’t try to explain it as I don't understand the choice Americans made in this election.
The year ended on a positive note in that in the first week of December my younger son learned that he had passed the 2024 CPA exams he wrote in September. This was quite the accomplishment and we are very proud of him.
There in a nutshell is my 2024.
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