Only last week I wrote about getting back into the flow of things after lockdown. This week has involved mentally winding down for Christmas and then last night the PM announced a new much stricter tier for the South East and the planned five day household mixing reduced to just one day. It’s heart breaking to think about everyone who’d made plans to see family, some for the first time in months, now having to change at the last minute and also how many more are likely to have to spend Christmas alone this year. I’m ridiculously lucky that for me it won’t be much different to any other year as I live at home with parents anyway. It’s hard not getting to see my friends though online chat is helpful but I still miss them. One is now fully locked down in Wales again and not even able to travel to get outdoor exercise.
There is some light in the darkness. Literally. A couple of runs this week were after dark so I got to see the fairy lights brightening up the night. And today is the Winter Solstice, midwinter, the point from which the days start to get longer and the nights shorter. Even though the challenges of life in the time of COVID aren’t going away any time soon they may be easier to bear with more daylight to see us through.