February 1, 2022.
It will usher in the Year of the Tiger.
My year.
The year of my birth, 1962.
And yes, I will be 60.
The Chinese New Year will usher in the start of another 12 year cycle.
Out with the Ox, and in with the Tiger.
And I am gearing up for what I am sure will be a memorable year.
I think back to all my previous Years of the Tigers.
The last one, 2010, when I turned 48, I retired from my wonderful and longtime career in broadcasting to pursue my other passion, real estate, full time.
It was a turning point of a year. One that would shape my destiny for the last 12 years.
No regrets. Although it has not always been an easy road.
It was my road to take, my decision to make.
The Tiger year before that was 1998, when I turned 36.
That was the year that I got married.
Eloped to California with my then fiance, now ex-husband.
It too was a turning point of a year, and one that would shape my destiny for the next 12 years after that, to be sure.
Although the marriage didn’t last the next 12 years, the journey through that passage of time was remarkable, in hindsight.
The Tiger year before that I was 24. It was 1986.
I was living in Montreal, and decided to move back home to Ontario.
I had lived in Montreal for three years, having packed up all my worldly belongings in my Ford Mustang hatchback when I was 21, and driven to my new life in mini-Paris.
I was fortunate that I was able to move home and live with my Dad when I returned to Ontario while I figured out what I really wanted to do with my life.
Ultimately, that was to go back to college and pursue a journalism and broadcasting career.
A turning point indeed, and one that definitely shaped the next 12 years of my life after that for sure.
The Tiger year before that, I was 12 years old, in 1974.
I know that was the year before we moved to Brampton. Our family was living in Oakville. My dad had been transferred with his job. I really can’t remember much else about that year at all. I was probably attending Grade 7/8 at Oakwood Public School. I had to leave my beloved Elmwood Public School after grade 6 because that was as far as that school went. I didn’t make many new friends in Oakwood. I remember it being a little difficult, with a lot of tough nutters in my classes.
And of course, 1962, the Tiger year I was born into the world.
I definitely don’t remember anything about that year, but there are lots of photographs that show I was baptized, and seemingly cherished and loved by my parents at that time.
I think it was a good time for them too. They had a new little daughter that they showed off to the world. My dad had a good job. My mum looked after me. The wheels of our little family were still intact. They showed no sign of falling off just yet. It was a good Tiger year.
So that is all, for now.
I am anticipating something happening this year, good, bad or in between, but something.
Maybe nothing.
Maybe it will be a quiet Tiger year.
After all, this time, the world is coming off a pandemic that has taken up the last 3 years.
There is a need for some peace and tranquility and return to normal.
So, whatever the universe deems, so it shall be.
Happy Year of the Tiger!