31st December 2020
The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here, the end of 2020, I mean seriously, thank goodness for that and although we really have no idea what 2021 has in store for us all it is not 2020 and where it all started.
The end of the year is generally all about reflection and although this is not something I usually do, I’m going to give it a go as let’s be honest this is not a typical year so why not.
There are no doubts that on and off paper this year for most of us have been the worst we have ever seen, not only in terms of loss (with many countries now seeing losses similar or exceeding those seen in WW2) but also in terms of loneliness, mental health crisis and having to spend some seriously extended periods of time locked away with our family that we never signed up for, whilst trying desperately to adapt to working from home putting a level of stress on us we could never have imagined.
However after taking a moment to acknowledge and reflect on this I want to focus on the positives rather than the negatives of this year, which when you “dig a little deeper” (Mama Odie, princess and the frog) there are many.
There was a huge amount of fund raising for the NHS from everyday folks that in their own right became heroes. Neighbourlyness became a ‘thing’ again, people were looking out for one another and helping out when and where they could with no need or thought for personal gain or just the simplicity of saying “Hello”. Regularly whilst out on our evening dog walk to everyone we passed pleasantries were exchanged, a simple “Hello, good evening, how are you?”, to people we had never met before but they may have been the only other humans we or they had seen that day, it made a difference.
Yes there will always be some loo roll hoarding troll who tries to spoil it but we are British we really do come together in times of crisis, we become more British, more polite, more human. It made a difference and continues to do so.
On a more personal note, I discovered family. This may seem obvious but as many of you know it came down to make or break during that first lockdown. It turned out to make us. I learnt who my children really were. Beyond their struggles, beyond their anxieties that presents as snarkyness and beyond the violent and aggressive meltdowns that leave us all shaken, tired and scared. I learnt, when given the space to bloom, they are loving, funny, caring, highly intelligent, amazing to be around, hard work (that’s never going to change) but that I wanted to be around them, I learnt I am going to fight tooth and nail to get them to a place where they can be themselves and flourish in this world without apology or the need to hide who they truly are.
As a family we have realised that spending time together is important. Yes the house needs cleaning, the garden needs weeding and there will always be something that needs to be repaired but these things will still be there tomorrow (or next week). This year has taught us that family cannot wait, we need to do what is important now and for us that is carving time out of a busy schedule for each other and making it count, hence the start of Living it true. We have hopefully given ourselves an excuse to have those day trips, time away from home and time together we may have otherwise sacrificed for other less important reasons.
I have also realised that no matter what apocalypse is going on in the world, the laundry (which is the utter bane of my life) is always going to need doing, the basket is always going to be overflowing and the washing machine is always going to be running. Humph!
