You, Me and a Cup of Tea; Let's Get Caught Up

A lot has happened since I did my last Let’s Get Caught Up post. I don’t think these posts will become a “thing” as such, but I’m sitting here with an undetermined amount of time on my hands while Sienna naps/sleeps (who knows which it will be; a 20 minute catnap, or a full blown 90 minute marathon sleep – your guess is as good as mine), but what I do know is that I need to chat, and by chat I mean type and write.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room; Coronavirus. It feels almost impossible these days to start a conversation or a work email or a blog post without making some sort of reference to the dreaded C-word. I guess that’s what happens when something as globally encompassing and all-consuming as a worldwide pandemic comes along. It’s all anyone can think about, talk about. Daily routines that seemed so boring and mundane before now seem, comparatively, exciting.

I don’t think I will ever again take for granted my daily walk to work. For it wasn’t just a conduit for getting me to the place that I earn my salary which in turn pays my mortgage and bills and affords me a pretty nice lifestyle. No, my daily walk was so much more than that. It was a chance for me to have a good solid 20 minutes of time for myself; twice a day. To not have to think about whether the washing needs putting on or the ironing needs doing (and in 99.9% of instances the answer is always yes). It was a chance for me to check in with myself, to see how I am doing. Do I need to make any small adjustments to my daily routines that will pay dividends in the long run? More often than not, in recent months before lockdown, it gave me the chance to listen to a podcast; a sure-fire way to motivate me ready for a day at the office.

But that precious me time, pretty much the only time each day I would have exclusively to myself, was snatched away from me with relatively little warning, along with everything else that I thought was certain and rock-solid in life. Don’t get me wrong I completely understand the need for that to have happened and fully support it, but was it a shock to my system? I’d be lying if I said no.

Have there been days when I’ve spent more time exasperated and crying than I’ve spent not? Absolutely. Well that may be an exaggeration but that what it feels like some days.

And I know that compared to a lot of other people I have absolutely nothing to moan about because, right now, I am safe, I am healthy (the same goes for my family), I can work from home relatively unaffectedly, and I live in one of the best places to be locked down in. But I can’t just suck it up because others are in a worse situation than me. All I know is what I had before, and all that rears its ugly head is a voice reminding me of what I now don’t have and how much harder life seems now. So yes, I know that I have it easy compared to the front line workers, and those who are keeping our island going, and those people who are directly affected by this awful virus, but that doesn’t mean I can feel chipper and grateful and happy all of the time.

OK so that was a tangent I wasn’t expecting to take!! I guess that covers off how I am. How are you doing? Do you check in with yourself regularly? It is so important to acknowledge when something isn’t quite right or off-kilter. Take the time to make little tweaks to your routines to see if those tweaks improve things/make things better. If not, tweak again. Do you need more of anything? Calls with friends or family/fresh air/more time alone. Do you need less of anything?  Screen-time perhaps. News consumption can play a huge part in how we feel, so be aware of how much news you listen to/read, and the nature of the content.

Corona is now exiting stage left to make way for more normal chit-chat (I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear).

As I said all those moans ago, it’s been a while since I did a Let’s Get Caught Up post, and quite a lot has happened. Ha – I say that without any clue as to what actually has happened and I definitely need to open up my calendar to see what I’ve been up to for the best part of the last 9 months!!

Ah yes, it’s all coming back to me now; Sienna’s christening, a trip to Malta….hang on a minute I’m pretty sure I’ve written about this before. BRB……..yep it turns out I covered off the tail end of my adventures in 2019 in my Review of 2019, so I won’t bore you by repeating myself 😊

Into 2020 we head and actually, looking through my calendar for the early weeks and months, there’s not too much going on over and above the usual swimming lessons, play dates with friends, working, drinks with work, dinners with friends. The highlight of the year so far absolutely has to be the fact we were able to get to Malta to see my family and celebrate my dad’s birthday with them. We arrived back home on 26 February just as Corona was taking a stronger hold and within less than a month, we were working from home full time. I’m so glad and grateful that I was able to see my family before we weren’t able to fly anymore.

The other event of particular importance was that my baby girl turned 1. How is that even possible? Cliched I know but how did a whole 365 days pass by without me noticing?? Her birthday celebrations, such as they were, were not the celebrations I had envisioned but let’s be honest, the party we would have thrown was more for my benefit than hers anyway! 😉

And that my friends, is a wrap. 2020 hasn’t seen the most activity but it’s all about survival!!

What news have you got to share from before Corona, or even during Corona? Tell me, tell me. I’m all ears.