Year in Review, 2021!

Today, I am nursing a slight hangover, after saying goodbye to 2021 and welcoming in the new year. I am not in the habit of celebrating New Year's Eve these days, especially at the moment, with the new Omicron variant on the rise, but I did nevertheless have a few drinks with family after work.

Like most people, I will be glad to see the back of this horrible year and, rather like 2020, confine it to the bin of history. Of course, despite the challenges, I have personally faced this year, I am also aware of just how important 2021 was to Darrell and me, as we were reunited once again.

Both of us had been planning for Darrell's return for a good number of months, before he arrived in the UK. Darrell had to be sure that Mum was fit and able to be left, and her cancer was under control and manageable while he is in Britain. Once he was confident in her ability to look after herself, he had to get the correct paperwork in place, from the Australian government, that would allow him to leave the country. With Britain operating on an almost normal level, I can't emphasise enough just how Draconian the restrictions down under were and still are. Darrell had to sign a document, agreeing to not return to Australia for at least three months. This was a difficult undertaking for him, considering his Mother's health. However, he had no option but to return before his visa allowing him to live and work in the UK expired. With plans in place, Darrell returned home in September.

2021 was another year dominated by the ongoing pandemic. Anyone who thought the virus would have been eradicated by now, would be sorely disappointed. Today, as I write this entry, record numbers of people are falling ill with COVID, yesterday nearly 190,000 alone. It seems that most only have mild symptoms from the Omicron variant, but this is an awful lot of people self-isolating, and it can't be sustained forever.

I am lucky enough to have had both my vaccinations, and the booster in late November. I have also had my flu jab and a Pneumonia vaccination, so I am as protected as I can be. Working in a busy supermarket, I am well aware of the importance of wearing masks, sanitizing my hands and protecting myself; despite this, colleagues, friends, and family continue to fall ill every day; thankfully, thus far, I have been fine – not even a cold!

There have been so many sad stories this year, from friends who have lost loved ones to the virus and others who continue to battle its effects. In some respects, I have become numb to the suffering around me and just carried on working as best I can. It isn't that I don't care, it's just a mechanism I have adopted, to allow me to cope with the terrible circumstances we are all living through. If I constantly dwelled on the hardship, I would never leave the house; life has to go on!

My priority has been for myself, Darrell and my family. When Darrell arrived in the UK, he was luckily double vaccinated, having been one of the first group of people to receive their vaccines, when Australia had barely vaccinated a few hundred thousand people. Despite this, he has had difficulties with paperwork and documents, including his status on his British health records. With the Government pushing the boosters ever harder, pleading with people to get their third jab as soon as possible, we both decided he should start the vaccination process all over again here in the UK. In December, he had another injection and will have to have yet another one in a few months time. This was the quickest and best course of action we could take, to ensure he remained safe as Omicron ravages the country.

2021 has also been a year dominated by my health. With a growing list of symptoms and ailments and my anxiety levels high, I have pushed further and harder for answers. Yes, I do suffer with health anxiety, but the pain I experience is real. It may well also be functional in nature, at least in part, but the effects it has on my wellbeing is immeasurable. For these reasons, I need to understand just what processes are at work.

Luckily, despite the pandemic, I did manage to have various procedures completed, that I have been waiting for, for a long time. During the summer, I had my gallbladder removed, which had been causing a huge amount of discomfort. Since its removal, I have never felt better, and I am just thankful I badgered and harassed the clinicians and Doctors to get this operation done.

I also had a gastroscopy, which also answered a few more questions about my gastrointestinal health, and I could once again start to live a normal life with the right treatment. There are many other niggles and annoyances I want dealt with; with the pandemic a major concern and restrictions commonplace, it seems inevitable that I will have to wait a little longer for these to be carried out. I hope I can finally see the back of them in 2022; only time will tell if that's the case!

With both Darrell and I working, we are beginning to make plans for the future. 2021 has been about dreams and aspirations; living through a pandemic has made us reassess our future plans. As a couple there is still a lot of travelling we would like to do, but our priorities have changed somewhat and acquiring a permanent home, here in the UK, seems to be our biggest challenge.

Living with my Aunt has allowed me to save consistently; during COVID, I have saved even harder, and that has actually meant all the difference in deciding our future. With a healthy bank balance, both of us would like to invest in a new home soon, maybe as soon as 2022. We are quite comfortable living with my Aunt, so luckily there is no rush to purchase anything yet. The circumstances of 2021 has allowed us to build up capital at a time when others are sadly struggling. The Coronavirus era has been a lucrative time for us; I don't want to sound uncaring about others who have suffered, but we have been left in a fortunate position, that will hopefully help us secure our future. Neither of us have made any firm plans about where we would like to be based in Britain, but having money has given us options, that we wouldn't otherwise have had.

This year I reached the grand old age of 50, not a milestone I was looking forward to with any sense of glee. However, my Aunt organised a party that I will always remember. This was yet another event Darrell wasn't able to attend, second to our 25th anniversary in 2020. It is sad that we have had to live separate lives for so long, due to a situation beyond our control, but it has taught us the importance of resilience during testing times. Together, we remain as strong as ever and can be proud of everything we have achieved.

2021 has been a difficult twelve months, but it has been a year of hard work and progress. I don't have the social life I once had; I no longer travel the World, as I would like; but I am continuing to build the foundations both of us need for success in the future. No one can predict what will happen in 2022, but my guess is, more of the same, and I will be writing something very similar this time next year. On average, pandemics have a lifespan of four to five years, so I believe these tumultuous times have more to give. As long as we use these austere months for personal enrichment and advancement, I feel sure we will reach our goals and begin to live life again in the best way we can.  I look forward to the day when society returns to normal, masks are cast aside and social distancing is a thing of the past, until then we wait, wonder and ponder what comes next; nothing lasts forever, everything happens for a reason, even a pandemic!