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It might only be the end of September, but I’m pretty sure we’re all really looking forward to seeing the back of this year. The year 2020 has been an almighty rollercoaster for pretty much everyone and there have been many lessons learnt along the way. I’m already looking ahead to the new year with a renewed sense of gratitude for so many things I took for granted. Spare toilet roll or bag of pasta anyone?
We took too many things for granted
No-one ever expected that 2020 would be the year that you couldn’t just pop over to your Mum and Dad’s house for a cuppa and a chat. Those days seem such a long time ago. With a national lockdown in April/May and local lockdowns around the country in September, it’s incredible what we actually took for granted pre-Covid-19.. Such as the opportunity to see friends and family so freely, visiting a local restaurant on the spur of the moment or being able to pick up basic toiletries from the supermarket. My 7 year old would agree we took his favourite fast food for granted and it was certainly missed
None of us are immortal
During the national lockdown earlier in the year, it became increasingly evident that none of us are immortal. None of us are going to live forever, and whilst I don’t want to sound gloomy, it’s a sad fact that one day all of us are going to pass away. It’s definitely made me think more realistically about the future, our family finances, our home and what we leave for our children. One of the things we definitely don’t want to leave them with is the burden of arranging funerals. Heart of England Funeral care are a local company and could take care of everything on our behalf. That’s something I would definitely like to organise in the future to ensure that our wishes are fulfilled and the burden of arranging a funeral isn’t passed on to a loved one.
Working from home is possible for many
As a blogger and social media manager, I currently work from home. We have a home office with super speed wifi, we have laptops and a printer all of which help me work remotely to do my work. Back in March, it was suddenly a requirement by law for many to work from home where possible. This saw thousands of people pack up their office belongings and begin working remotely from home, my husband and my sister included. Zoom and Team meetings became the norm and it was suddenly possible for thousands of workers to continue their day jobs in their slippers and loungewear!
Whilst working around a family is always tricky, many found working from home gave them a more balanced work-life equilibrium. They were able to get outside and spend more time with their children in the park and change the routine of their day to adapt to the challenges they faced. Many businesses have found the lockdown period to be an insight into how their employees worked and found that actually, the productivity of their staff has increased. It will be interesting to see how these companies introduce their employees back in the workplace, if at all.
Growing your own vegetables is hard work
At the start of the year, we sowed some vegetable seeds in the hope of a plentiful crop in the summer. Sadly, our crop did not materialise and we began to question what we had done wrong. We planted seeds for Chantenay carrots and Spring onions and waited patiently for them to grow, watering them throughout the week and praying to the vegetable gods daily. Our vegetables didn’t work out for us but we’ll try again next year!
What has 2020 taught you? Will you be looking back and learning from any periods of uncertainty?
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After just reading Emma’s comments in regard to her growing vegetables which didn’t appear to be successful, well Emma you weren’t on your own my family,friends and neighbours all said exactly the same.Believe me my hubby and I grow lots of Vegetables every year and we have never had a problem but unlike this year we have not done well at all. We are blaming the weather it was very dry and hot despite us keep watering, we made several attempts with our Runner Beans and as fast as we planted them they just seemed to disintegrate in the soil.
I hope you and all the other gardeners out there have a better year next year.