My 2020 reflections. What an extraordinary year for us all with the world’s number one topic – COVID. Yep that’s true but there’s far more.
COVID
Yes there is no doubt, 2020 has been a year dominated by COVID across the entire world with hardly a community remaining unaffected. I hear the virus has reached the Antarctic scientific station, down there on the south pole. Also I hear even one of our local prisons has recently had an outbreak leading to prisoners being locked in their cells for 23.5 hours a day, seven days a week. Grim, serious beef, everywhere.
Beyond the tragedies and the incompetence of the Government, there are countless stories of neighbourly love and compassion. Neighbours looking out for their neighbours, particularly those who are vulnerable. The Government has moved to house every rough sleeper, albeit temporarily. Shelf stackers in supermarkets are rightly recognised as local heroes. We have been touched by friends calling us to check we’re okay, just as we have done the same to others.
Back in March, Lockdown 1.0 as some call it, the roads became quiet and people took up cycling and running. So many more folk were able to work at home for the first time, the skies saw fewer aircraft and we all promised not to go back to our old ways.
All this is true and I’m encouraged by the way in which humanity has risen to the challenge and how the pandemic has brought the best out in so many people.
Nevertheless, you could say COVID is a little reminder from God, as if to say
“Listen you lot! You might think you are so smart and you’re on top of everything with all your technologies. As a little reminder that you’re in Cloud Cuckoo Land, here’s a tiny microscopic virus that’ll bring the world to its knees. Now will you look to me?”
Health
This has also been a year of mixed health for me, though in reality it is probably simply being another year older. The good news is my kidney performance has surprisingly improved over the last five months and I’m well above the baseline for my condition. The not-so-good news is continuing the trend of urinary infections, which strangely just seem to come along in the winter; I wonder why?
My eyesight condition which gives a distorted vision, is relatively good these days, better than it has been for years. There is, however, some lasting damage in my left eye which is rather grey, blurry and text still looks a bit wavy. In accordance with being in my late 50s I need glasses for reading and for anything close up, so that’s no big deal, providing I can find them or they haven’t fallen to bits.
Running
Running has been challenging but still brilliant. The start of the year saw me recovering from an injury in my hip area and I put this down to running too much in December 2019. Then in September 2020 I had plantar fasciitis, of which I’m still recovering from (I’d say 95% better). I think I have escaped quite lightly as a few peeps have said they took 12-18 months to recover.
The have been a number of positive points with running:
- I really enjoyed our local Parkruns, especially the social side. A small group of us would enjoy coffee and toast afterwards. Even my friend Paul Scoins was poised to join us, together with Nicholas who I knew as a Probation colleague from the late 1990s as he recognised me in the crowd. We got talking and he was gonna join us for coffee the following week, alas that was then Lockdown and we lost contact.
- My mileage and fitness built up and I enjoyed some of my hilly runs again. These were 6 or 7 miles or so and I loved enjoying them again.
- The Runner’s High!
- I started running with my friend Jon towards the end of the summer. He lives in Harpenden and we used to alternate venue. Nowadays he is fitter than me but we still run well together. He always pulled me along a little faster and further than I would have done on my own.
- Alas all that running gave me a dose of plantar fasciitis which has stopped me running for the last 3 months. Hopefully I can resume and pace myself properly. In case you didn’t know – I LOVE RUNNING!
Family life
This has been a major change for us. The above picture is with our youngest daughter Hannah who worked on the south coast in the summer and has now returned to live with us.
I will never forget that night in late July when, completely out of the blue, the Police called at 2am as there was an issue with Rachel’s mum (Grandma).
That started a chain of events which quickly led to us moving in with her, temporarily at the time, and then more permanently. We were able to care and look after her as her needs were growing all the time. We enlisted professional carers and had social services involved.
Her health gradually deteriorated leading to being in hospital at the start of October; we thought it would be only for a few days. And yet all kinds of problems followed, one after the other, leading us to making the difficult decision that a nursing home was more appropriate in meeting her growing needs (latterly 24 hour nursing care). Then in the small hours of Christmas Day we heard that she’s passed away.
The Dusty Museum
This is now our home, for sure, although to be honest it still feels like Grandma’s house. It is, shall I say, a high maintenance house and I am catching up on some neglect. We haven’t completely put our stamp on it as yet. This has been partly through respect and also because it takes time. Time for Rachel to “process” all the bits and pieces (keep/sell/give away) and time for me to do some repairs and give it a lick of paint.
We found it quite difficult to ease out of our home in Dunstable having been there for 24 years. In a way the decision was made for us, perhaps this has made it a little easier rather than counting the days down. We think of our move as being an adventure, seeing where it takes us and how we’ll enjoy a new scenery, new friends and neighbours and so on. We are also pleased we have been able to rent our house to a lovely young family we know.
Blogging
Thank you for reading my blog. Remember I’m just an ordinary bloke but I love life and appreciate the many blessings around me every day. The hit rate graph (from Jetpack) shows a steady increase and I get readers from all around the world.
Ironically it seems to be posts from 2018 which attract the most attention (when I had a catheter ahead of a prostate operation) and I’m always pleased to hear from folk. I don’t always manage to reply to everyone and I do apologise for that; I promise to try and do better in 2021.
In terms of blogging for the future, I’m thinking of adding a few more posts about early retirement. I retired aged 56 and it has arguably been the happiest time of my life. Retiring fairly early, especially for someone like me with a humble middle management public sector job took some doing, and I’m happy to write some personal insights into this:
- financial planning
- quitting while you’re ahead
- using your time, having a purpose
- making the emotional and intellectual adjustment
So thank you for reading, either as a visitor or as a subscriber. Some of my friends read this although most of my readers are strangers. I appreciate you sticking with me through all the ups and downs, twists and turns of life.