I’ll admit: at first, I wasn’t feeling February. January being shite and hard was one thing, but February rocking up meant time was still passing whilst we continued to live this lockdown life with no end in sight. My birthday was about to arrive and the thought of what it would look like compared to previous birthdays, plus the gloomy state of affairs around Covid being actually worse compared to this time last year, made me uninclined to celebrate.
The alternative was to ignore it altogether though which goes against my very essence, so Gary pulled out all the stops with presents and pink balloons and gold glittery candles. We made pancakes, opened presents, ate Guinness cake, walked in the sunshine, ordered food in from the local deli and pasta evangelists, drank aperol spritz, listened to good tunes… And, what do you know, taking the time to celebrate within our means and regardless of the State Of The World, broke the monotony and lifted the spirits.
Since then, we’ve celebrated our six-year anniversary in our usual way, made mountains of pancakes on pancake day and had a hangover-inducing pasta-making, wine-tasting virtual party with the girls. There was a lot of laughter in February. It moved faster. My mood lightened along with the longer days. And it meant I celebrated other, smaller things; snow, sunshine, good food, finishing a work task sooner than anticipated, making friends with local cats, warmer temperatures, lighter evenings. I felt cautious hope at the roadmap announcement. We’ve dared to make tentative holiday plans and put dates in the diary with friends.
It feels like we’re playing a waiting game at the moment, but time keeps moving and significant dates keep coming around whether we like it or not. Let’s celebrate milestones and little daily wins, and the feeling of hope for the future. They were the best things about life pre-covid and, despite a smaller scale, they can be now.
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