Looking back at 2022 is a little tricky as there have been a few lows. Thankfully there have been more highs. Here goes….
The photo on the top of this post is framed above my desk. On one level it reminds me of where I’ve been and says something about where I am wanting to go.
Let me explain. I took the photograph early one morning and, to be honest, it was a bit of an effort to drag myself out of my mid town Manhattan hotel and walk over to Times Square to see night turn into day. Life is like that; rewards often come in proportion to the effort put in. No matter whether this is hiking up Ben Nevis, running a marathon or working hard at a relationship, a project or simply life itself. Sometimes this last year I confess to coasting along a little; other times have been far more rewarding having invested some energy into a few things. That effort pays off and this is something I really do have to remember.
Hard to believe we were all starting to emerge from Covid a year ago and since then things have gradually become easier in that regard. This didn’t stop me getting Covid myself and I was hit pretty hard. I also gave Covid to my wife, just in time for her birthday! It was also about a year ago that I had my ears pierced and I can still hardly believe I went through with it. Even now, when I wake up in the mornings, I think that question: did I really go through with it? That was all about making a milestone of becoming 60 and leaving that corporate world of complete conformity seriously behind me. This has been the only bit of rebellion, so please don’t think I’m going a bit crazy.
Going to New York for a week in May was great. Learned many things there, about the American way of life, something of their views of us English folk and came to increasingly understand the divides that seem to be all around in the world. This was reinforced on our family holiday when we went to South Africa and I observed a little more there; the pace of cultural change is very slow, painfully slow. Power may have passed from the white population to the black population but this hasn’t solved a great deal. There is still an imbalance with wealth, power and fear. Just as it has taken over a hundred years for some kind of reasonable equality to be achieved here in the UK for women, with further progress still needed, so I fear racial equality may not be achieved this century. As always, I enjoy an aeroplane’s window seat to ponder these things as the clouds drift by somewhere underneath me.
My health and fitness seems to have remained steady, thankfully. My kidneys are stable, save the odd blip. Infections have been pretty awful and I’ve had more antibiotics this year than ever. My right foot, with its injury, has proved painful when trying to run. So this year I’ve done a few Parkruns, hobbled around a bit, had some physiotherapy and continue to seek a solution to the damaged ligament. Surgery could be the solution, possibly on a private basis. Also, in 2022, I have come to realise that my intention of living another 40 years might be a bit optimistic, even for me.
Our home, the Quirky Museum, still needs a fair amount of work. However, for this year we had given ourselves permission to have a “year off” and haven’t done very much. Sure, a little bit of maintenance has happened, that will always be needed. Perhaps the biggest necessities were a repair on the roof and fitting secondary double glazing to the old Victorian windows. This insulation has been driven by me always feeling so cold and also the rising fuel costs. Our gas bill has doubled during this last year.
Rising fuel bills, along with the rising cost of just about everything has hit us along with everyone else. And yet we seem to be riding this out alright because we aren’t extravagant in any way. I started to draw on my occupational pension during the year, so that has helped enormously. Our cars are 16 and 12 years old: they might be rather unfashionable but there’s no reason to update them as they’re perfectly reliable and cost effective. We have driven almost 20,000 miles this last year with almost zero depreciation!
Most of these miles has been visiting our two daughters and my mother. My mother, by the way, finally accepted that she should quit driving while she still had a clean licence. As she is gradually becoming more needy, I drive to see her more often. She may be 88 but it didn’t stop her coming sailing with us one day! I think I will always remember that special day when Hannah took us out for a few hours on the south coast. You can’t buy memories like that!
We have also enjoyed an increasing sense of being “at home” here in the village. I feel accepted here, far more than I did in Dunstable. This has shown itself in a number of ways as we have become drawn into village life far more. This has included some “committees”, social connections, some volunteering, friendships, the church and the start of my book (which I plan to complete in 2023).
So many things have made 2022 a memorable year for all the right reasons. It was on 22nd December that our first grand child was born; a precious arrival. This has made me think through my life as a whole and there now seems to be a completeness to it in seeing the next generation arrive. I look at my eldest daughter and her husband and I see myself. I hear them talk and chat and dream about the things to come. I hear myself. I hear myself from 25 years ago and I hear myself right now, today and looking to the future.
And yet I cannot tell you everything here; I have come to learn some things which I wish I never knew and regret knowing. I cannot “un-know” these things. My Christian faith is always there and I find myself reflecting on this more and more. It is through quiet contemplation this occurs, not through loud lectures delivered by enthusiastic preachers. It is that gentle reasoning, that inner confidence, that certainty of faith, hope and trust. I love life and looking ahead I want to continue making a difference, as best I can, for many years to come.
