One year on and time to pause and reflect on a horrendous year for the world and a minute’s silence at midday to remember the victims of Covid-19. We are also going to stand on our doorsteps with lights at 8pm as part of the national day of reflection. So many deaths in the UK (147,681 and counting), so much heartache, stress and mental health issues, so many financial and personal concerns, so many sad stories, it has taken a huge toll on all of us. But thankfully the weekly death figures are at their lowest since October and therefore we are all hopeful that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t another oncoming train called “The Third Wave,” but at least with our successful vaccine roll out we can be more positive about avoiding that in the UK. After our little flurry of hope whereby all my children singlehandedly seemed to support every single festival going, until suddenly it transpired that most had done it because they had a cash flow problem and promptly cancelled or postponed them all again until next year. Now my children don’t have any money left.
On a personal note, we have been lucky to have protected my mother and she is safe and well in her flat, she’s just immensely bored and must be pickled in white wine by now. As am I. The only thing I am now very good at is drinking alcohol ever day. I have failed to learn to play the saxophone, failed to write a best selling screenplay, failed to knit a new house, failed to sort any cupboards, failed to make any bread, failed to go to the dump more than once, failed to do any gardening, failed to finish Netflix, failed, failed, failed. I haven’t even learnt to roll my own cigarettes yet.
BUT we are all still standing and looking forward to Easter, which was meant to be Creaster, but now isn’t, because I still can’t invite my mother to join us as she would need to have to stay the night, which she’s still not allowed to do. The good news is that it’s her birthday on May 17th so we’ve booked her in for a massive pub crawl, with Christmas and Easter thrown in for good measure even though it’s a Monday night.
So I’m thankful today for Mother’s Day last week and for spring and for the clocks going forward in a few days and for having my kids for the day. Here is my tiny mother with my son, who is now even taller than when this was taken a few years ago, followed by the card I gave her this year:-
And this makes me happy – a homemade cake and my son cooking me supper! Hooray for small, simple joys.
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It’s difficult to believe it’s a whole year already… so happy to hear that your mum is still safe, and that you are still able to enjoy the simple pleasures! We are all hanging in together for better times, and still somehow hopeful!