I never would have imagined a year with no contact. No hugs, no emotion, barely any guests at funerals and weddings.
I never would have imagined a year with no holidays. No travel within your own country let alone outside.
I never would have imagined a year with lots of closures. Barely going to the pub at all, no drunken memories or nights that carry on and on.
I never would have imagined a year being surrounded by it. On the news, Saturday night tv shows, in general conversation – everywhere.
We can look at it and think what is missing, what have we lost, see all that is wrong.
Or we can notice what we have gained, build up hope to continue on…
An appreciation for living in the very moment, zero planning.
Amazement at human adaptation, how everyone, almost everyone has found new ways, new avenues.
Strength in carrying on. Hope in the future.
True gratitude for the front line fighters, the NHS staff and essential workers.
‘2020 wasn’t all so bad,’ I’ve seen in many a status today,
Entering 2021 steadily and carefully because the virus hasn’t gone away.
Yet in 2020 we learnt about finding the rainbows in the storm,
We can enter the new year with this mindset, approach everything in this form.
Happy New Year’s Day, I really think, sometime soon, it will all be ok.
All blog posts can be found at https://www.harrietmills.co.uk/ and to read my published work visit my portfolio. My debut novel, Dear Brannagh, is out now.