~~ December - Be good, will you? ~~

Yeah! I still cannot believe we are so far already in this year.  I keep reminding myself every now and then that I am in the last month of this year. Too many things happened this year. Lots of unexpected surprises, both good and bad, both on personal and professional front.  

This probably is the very first year where I had this strong urge to take a break frequently, even if it was just for a day to rejuvenate myself to be able to face next few weeks. I normally save my leaves - and use it only if its absolutely necessary - like a family function that cannot be avoided, school related visits for the little one(most of these are scheduled on weekdays and this eats up most of my leave balances), if the little one falls ill or I fall sick. Even after careful application of leaves, I still used to end up waiting for the month end for that leave credit, so I can just take a day off. Even if I had to take a break when I was absolutely completely exhausted, mind you, just a day off,  I would still end up working at least half day even in those days. 

I won't deny that I learnt a lot amidst all the hard work that was required - so much so, that as soon as the initiative that demanded this insanity went live and was deemed a huge success, and when life came back to normal working hours just very very recently - I felt empty.  Probably this is how an empty nest syndrome feels like :P  Am emotional that way. I don't know if its right or wrong, but I get attached to the work that I do, and that's the only thing that helps me deliver. I still remember the first program that challenged me when I was a developer and the happiness that I felt when that first program ran successfully - and the first congratulations I had received from onsite for solving it.  And believe me, it's so very long ago, but I remember :P

Now, I surely miss the hot seat that I was on - the whole of this year - and when I voiced it out sadly, one of my team member was quick to point out not to jinx it.... Of course, it was not an easy year for them as well! It's not that we are not busy now - its still crazy, just a tad less from how it was the whole year, but still a bit crazy here and there, now and then.

Working together to get that large scale initiative see its finish line - staring unbelievably at the final sign offs when that multiple product integration started working seamlessly with go-live - being responsible for the front and the tail end of that integration and for a while managing the middle tier handled by client teams as well - and all this, while we were also still delivering BAU project demands - had driven us all so crazy that a normal working day now looks like something out of a fairy tale.  

Anyways, all I wish is for December to be a good month, for me and my teams :)  Though the previous months of this year have been a crazy blur, hoping this December will be a month that we will happily remember :) 

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