In my last update, it was mid November. At this point, things were looking on the up. Cases were falling thanks to the second lockdown starting in the first week of November, but this didn’t last. In December things took a dramatic turn for the worse with the discovery that a new, much more transmissible variant was spreading in London and the South East, despite the lockdown. This was only discovered in hindsight and the lockdown ended on the 2nd, only to be effectively reimposed days before Christmas. Up until the evening of the 19th, everyone assumed they could go home for Christmas so long as they only stayed a few days but sadly this was always too optimistic and the Christmas relaxation was scrapped.

When I heard the news, I wasn’t that worried. I’ve come to expect the worst and I think that paid off on this occasion. My optimism kicked in and said, “you’ll figure it out, don’t worry!”

As hard as it was to be told that Christmas is not going ahead as planned, I can only feel incredibly grateful for how my friends and family have supported each other, whilst not ignoring the rules that we all understand are necessary.

For Christmas day, I had my (new) support bubble over for a meal, some games and a walk along the canal. Having a support bubble over the last couple of months has completely saved me and I’m so grateful to my friends for keeping me sane! Obviously I’m also immensely grateful to my family for keeping up with the regular contact.

Other things that have genuinely kept me sane include:

• cooking
• reading
• yoga
• exercise
• walks outside

There are a bunch of other things but these are the main ones.

One thing I’ve noticed is that lockdown has forced me to consider what I really want to do day-to-day. I’m finding it easier these days to just decide to do something and honestly I’ve found this weirdly difficult in the past.

Another thing I’m getting better at is just buying stuff instead of getting trapped in a decision paralysis jail. I seriously dislike not being able to try clothes on before I buy them. Luckily most places do free returns!

One thing I’m struggling with is figuring out exactly where I want to take my life on a larger scale, but I’ll leave that to another post.

Anyway, this festive lockdown has been a unique and hopefully once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it hasn’t been all that bad. More or less every day I’ve done some kind of virtual activity with my family, including WhatsApp-based quizes, Among Us and Scrabble. Other than that everyone has pretty much been getting on with it, as weird as it is to be separated from each other. It’s not easy but I’m proud that we’re all persevering and not giving in to the urge to disregard the rules that protect us.

Hopefully the vaccine will have made its way too all of us by the middle of 2021, which I’m sure will be one hell of a come-back year.