Trying to get through this third lockdown has been really difficult. There are some grey mornings when I lie in bed and try to motivate myself to start a new day with a positive attitude.
This sounds churlish and ungrateful but it’s where I have sometimes found myself over the last few weeks. January and February are my least favourite months. Historically I’ve booked a holiday somewhere sunny and warm. Something to look forward to! On the 23rd March 2020 the country went into its first lockdown. We have been living under restrictions ever since! No foreign holidays abroad and probably not for many more months! For over a year our lives have been very different and very isolated!
But, if all goes well and most of the adults are vaccinated, life should return to some kind of normality. I can finally meet family and friends and visit pubs and restaurants again! Such a common occurrence and so taken for granted! I’m not even going to imagine boarding a plane and visiting my son and his family in the States! That’s a pipe dream and won’t become a reality any time soon!
I must think of positive ways to keep motivated ! I have to start appreciating the beauty around me and banish this despondency that keeps rearing it’s ugly head! I must count my blessings and be grateful! I am not alone in longing for the freedom of a past almost forgotten era!
When outside I must become more aware of my surroundings! Daffodils are bobbing gently in the breeze. Delicate white blackthorn flowers have already started to bring colour to brown, lifeless hedgerows. Primroses and cowslips are shooting up in gardens and along roadsides. I am lucky to live in a beautiful part of the country. Snowdrops will soon make way for glorious carpets of vibrant bluebells. The dawn chorus is getting louder and more melodic! Winter is definitely making way for warmer, sunnier weather. The grey shroud that blanketed the country for so many months has begun to dissipate.
We’ve had a warm spell which has been wonderful! Spring has finally arrived and there is no excuse to wallow in the self pity of a locked down winter! I have had two dance classes outside in the sunshine and been able to legally spend time with neighbours again! Last night we sat outside with friends and had a drink and a good laugh.
There is no longer any justification for feeling melancholic! Britain is in a unique position. More than half of all adults have already had their first COVID vaccination. Freedom will return! I just need a bit more patience and a positive attitude, neither of which are my strongest attributes! I do feel that the country has turned a corner! I am sure that the future will be bright and filled with the joy of families and friends reunions! I am going to hold that thought!
Today has been good! Tomorrow will be better …….. đź‘
Jenny Burrell 