Even the title of this blog post seems strange to write - before this year started never did I think we'd see a lockdown, let alone two. But here we are - the first day of the second lockdown for the UK. It's been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster of a year with more ups an downs than can be counted. We as a family have so far been relatively unscathed - both Adam and I work from home for ourselves and whilst work has definitely been quieter this year for us both, especially with Adam's shows that he usually sells at being cancelled, we have still been able to earn an income. We're also incredibly fortunate enough to have our health.
My Mum is the only person that we personally know who has had coronavirus, she had it before it was really 'well known' here in the UK. Back in February of this year she was unwell for a few months with a particuarly bad cough among other bad symptoms. She had one particular coughing fit which she passed out from at home and awoke with paramedics around her. She has recently had a blood test which has shown that she has previously had it. So whilst no body can say for sure that it was exactly then, it does seem highly likely considering how unwell, for how long and the fact that her doctor said it was likely to have been pneumonia-related at the time, which we now know is closely linked to coronavirus. My Mum would never have been tested for it back then because at that point coronavirus was only really thought of as being in China, but there have been many stories and people who have come forward to say that it had reached other countries as early as January of this year.
I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes I find it difficult to find the right words to talk about how I feel about all of this - on one hand it's obviously unsettling to everybody, it has changed life as we know it and it can feel tough mentally to put distance in between the people that you love (friends and family) and yourself. You naturally want to see and to hug your family, but you have to go against that instinct and remember that you need to follow the lockdown rules to keep them and yourself safe. But on the other hand it doesn't seem totally right to say that this is all particularly 'difficult' especially so when you know that there are people and peoples family members who are in critical conditions and even worse, dying from this virus daily. And also when you are aware of people losing their jobs and having their businesses destroyed due to lockdown, which of course has had to happen for a second time to keep us safe but that is also financially eating away at and sometimes even crippling many people's incomes, businesses and our own government.
The reality is is that 2020 hasn't been the nicest of years and it's affected a lot of people not just physically but mentally too. At the moment we can't make plans to see anyone out of our own household for Christmas, but we do have Christmas to look forward to and right now that something to focus on and that distraction is hugely important. The second lockdown is different in that children are still at school this time with social distancing measures in place and that the plan is to end this lockdown in four weeks time. So hopefully if the infections and the deaths have declined enough that may mean that Christmas can look and feel like the Christmasses that we've always known, but we shall see. Whatever happens, we will feel incredibly lucky to at least be able to celebrate Christmas together as a household.
The future is uncertain right now, not just for the UK but all over the world due to the virus, but talks of a vaccine are on the cards and most of the countries of the world are at least implementing rules and guidelines like wearing masks, social distancing and lockdowns when they are needed to stop the spread of the virus. It's unsettling that things are so uncertain, but keeping a positive mindset and focusing on what can be done rather than what can't, definitely seems like the right way forward.
Thank you for reading. Alex xo
