On Friday I realised I last had my hair cut on the 12th March 2020 and it got my thinking......( I am so pretending I'm Carrie Bradshaw right now ) It has been a crazy year! If someone would have told me on that day what the year would have been like I would not have believed them!
I was booked in to get my hair cut for The Cornflower Ball, which was cancelled, we had our last meeting of the Greater Manchester Spinal Injury Support Group and then i went and got my hair cut. Things just started closing down from that day. It's Mother's Day tomorrow, last year I scrubbed up like a surgeon to write a card and then dropped if off like I was doing a drugs run. Not that I have ever done a drugs run, but it adds to the drama, I've had conversations with my parents from the bottom of the garden and then formed a bubble. This all makes sense now, but if my hairdresser would have told me this I wouldn't have believed her.
I've done numerous things on my doorstep, I've clapped for the NHS and Captain Tom, I've had a minutes silence for Remembrance Day, I've rung a bell for santa and welcomed in the new year, sadly I also lit a candle for Sarah Everard this evening. I've spent new year alone so it was nice to chat to my neighbours and welcome in the new year. I also celebrated my birthday alone, there was an 80s festival on Facebook so I watched that in my living room and danced along. On the up side I went to a festival and the toilets were clean and there was no queue at the bar! Friends took time to send gifts through the post and I even got a socially distanced cake drop! Under the circumstances, it was a good birthday. The pubs and restaurants open up properly the day after my birthday, and I am slightly bitter about it, but a friend has arranged for a meal on a balcony on my birthday and come rain or shine it will be welcome and very much appreciated.
Work has been odd, mainly working from my kitchen table with the odd face to face visit. I wear a visor and I pretend I'm in Flashdance, welder by day dancer at night. I can do neither but I can dream. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Zoom. I'm truly grateful I've been able to see people safely, but will not miss the "you're on mute" or "put yourself on mute", the Zoom Wave is hideous, but it's a compulsion. We've also had Headway meetings over Zoom and The Greater Manchester Spinal Injury Support Groups over Zoom, we've done yoga, talked about bowels and done some bird watching. If my hair dresser would have told me this, I wouldn't have believed her. I usually work from home, but if I'm sick of being on my own i squat in a friend's office. I've not been able to do this and at times I've found working on my own really difficult, despite my introversion / anti-socialness. I have found that a white noise app has helped if I need to concentrate, it's not quite the same as being able to do a Tenable with other people or play Would You Rather, but it has helped.
I don't think I've really achieved anything during lockdown, I haven't written a book or developed a side hustle, I've got a little lockdown lard but I'm ok with that. I've also come to accept that my untidiness is nothing to do with time, I'm ok with that.
I'd like to think I'm an optimist and nice things have happened this year. I've had conversations with relatives that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't been stood at the gate, people have helped the support groups I work with and friends have checked up on me and brought cake and had dog walks. I think I've learned to appreciate the small things in life, like spotting new things in the supermarket... I say things but I mean seasonal cake, it was parkin and it's now hot cross buns. Monday was a special day, I got to ......... sit on a bench with a friend, i was a cold bench a few feet from my house, but it was a glimpse of things becoming normal again.
I never realised how much I love being in my car, I'm not someone who loves driving it's a bit of a chore, but the head space is lovely. The day I got my first vaccine I really enjoyed driving around with Jeremy Vine. I have also set an alert every day for 10.25 so that I can put the kettle on for Pop Master. I have accepted that I am a Radio 2 girl. There were two Radio 1 DJs on The circle and I had not got a clue who they were.
I've got things to look forward to, fingers crossed I get to see Duran Duran on 4th July, they're not getting any younger and hopefully I will get to see David Gray in September, it should have been March 2020, but that was postponed. I'm hoping to get a trip to Poland, but I think that will be next year and then I've got lots of meals to be had. I'm desperate for someone else to make my tea for me.
It's been a crazy year, I had got my head around 2021 being a total write off, but I think things will get better, it shows how resilient we can be.