For me 2020 has been a wasted year. It was the year of my eightieth birthday. I was looking forward to a very special birthday and it didn’t happen. A trip to Queensland to visit my two sons and their families in March had to be cancelled. A last journey back to the land of my birth was out of the question. My daughter and her family had booked a holiday in Iluka, NSW for October and invited me to accompany them. The so-called second wave of Covid-19 in Victoria caused the cancellation of that event.
My family and family celebrations are very important to me. My eight-year-old grandson had his First Holy Communion in Albury, but the border between Victoria and NSW was closed. I missed that special occasion. His older sister had her Confirmation in November. Because of social distancing rules, only her parents and a sponsor was allowed to attend. Another missed celebration.
This same granddaughter graduated from primary school last night. Only parents and two guests were allowed. After lots of debate her paternal grandfather and me, her maternal grandmother were the chosen candidates. The other two grandparents and her siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins missed out. The whole evening was greatly deflated.
I could go on and on about important events and special occasions that have been sacrificed because of this pandemic. Those special times can never be reclaimed. Younger people may be able to pick up the pieces of their lives but older people like me, can never get back this lost year. We don’t have an excess of years left that we can be complacent about the loss of time.
The prompt for this December writing is ‘One Moment, This Year’. All I can focus on are the lost moments that would have been precious to me. The only positive for the whole year was that instead of our Writing Group’s stories being read at meeting sessions, they were printed on line. I have hearing loss and by reading them at my leisure I was able to understand the full content of every story.
I detest the phrase ‘the new normal’ I want the original normal. Let’s not settle for anything else.
Update.
I was awakened by Claudia, our dog barking. I sleepily scrambled from bed to answer the door. It was 7.30am on the 17 December 2020. My daughter was outside the door with a large cardboard box. I opened the door, then went into the lounge and sat down until the sleepiness seeped from my head and my brain began to function. By then my husband had the box. Giving it to me he said “Your Christmas present. I have to give it to you now instead of on Christmas day.” Inside was a beautiful tortoiseshell kitten. She was a cheeky, friendly little animal, immediately making herself at home with our dog, our house, and me.
I have wanted a cat since my last cat died of old age five years ago but my husband thought one pet animal was sufficient at our advanced ages. I never expected such a gift. Being given the sweet little kitten over-rides all the disappointments caused by Covid-19. This was my very special moment. ☺
Elizabeth Kearns
December 2020
My family and family celebrations are very important to me. My eight-year-old grandson had his First Holy Communion in Albury, but the border between Victoria and NSW was closed. I missed that special occasion. His older sister had her Confirmation in November. Because of social distancing rules, only her parents and a sponsor was allowed to attend. Another missed celebration.
This same granddaughter graduated from primary school last night. Only parents and two guests were allowed. After lots of debate her paternal grandfather and me, her maternal grandmother were the chosen candidates. The other two grandparents and her siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins missed out. The whole evening was greatly deflated.
I could go on and on about important events and special occasions that have been sacrificed because of this pandemic. Those special times can never be reclaimed. Younger people may be able to pick up the pieces of their lives but older people like me, can never get back this lost year. We don’t have an excess of years left that we can be complacent about the loss of time.
The prompt for this December writing is ‘One Moment, This Year’. All I can focus on are the lost moments that would have been precious to me. The only positive for the whole year was that instead of our Writing Group’s stories being read at meeting sessions, they were printed on line. I have hearing loss and by reading them at my leisure I was able to understand the full content of every story.
I detest the phrase ‘the new normal’ I want the original normal. Let’s not settle for anything else.
Update.
I was awakened by Claudia, our dog barking. I sleepily scrambled from bed to answer the door. It was 7.30am on the 17 December 2020. My daughter was outside the door with a large cardboard box. I opened the door, then went into the lounge and sat down until the sleepiness seeped from my head and my brain began to function. By then my husband had the box. Giving it to me he said “Your Christmas present. I have to give it to you now instead of on Christmas day.” Inside was a beautiful tortoiseshell kitten. She was a cheeky, friendly little animal, immediately making herself at home with our dog, our house, and me.
I have wanted a cat since my last cat died of old age five years ago but my husband thought one pet animal was sufficient at our advanced ages. I never expected such a gift. Being given the sweet little kitten over-rides all the disappointments caused by Covid-19. This was my very special moment. ☺
Elizabeth Kearns
December 2020
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