We couldn’t wait for it to be over, and now it is. We’ve said our farewells to 2020 and are bracing ourselves for what 2021 will bring. It hasn’t been the best of starts, but with the vaccine rollouts now underway, at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as COVID is concerned, and with COP26 happening in November, there is momentum like never before to tackle the climate crisis. But while the over-riding sentiment about 2020 is “good riddance”, it wasn’t all bad, certainly not for me personally, and I wanted to take stock and acknowledge some of the good bits.
I saw way more of my children
I can’t say I’m relishing the prospect of more home schooling, but we did a lot of fun things during the first lockdown. When my daughter was at primary school, I could probably count on both hands the number of times after P1 (when I was on maternity leave) that I picked her up from school. I’ve been there practically every single day this term for my son, and I appreciate all the more the walks to and from school because I know how precious that time is. Even when he tells me that he “prefers silence”, or informs me that my renditions of Christmas carols are too pitchy.
I appreciate where I live a lot more
I’ve always been very grateful to have a nice house with a garden and living in the area I grew up in, I felt as though I knew it like the back of my hand. But familiarity breeds contempt, or at the very least indifference, and prior to 2020 I spent a lot of time away from home, either at work or travelling for work, and we felt that we had “wasted” our weekends if we didn’t go somewhere and do something. Being forced to stay in the vicinity of my house meant learning to value what we have on our doorstep. Here’s a selection of photos I’ve taken in just the past week alone:
I gave up my job
I wrote about this in my last blog post, but if it hadn’t been for the pandemic I would never have considered leaving my job. And that means I would never have learned the things about myself that I have in the six months since I did it. About what really matters, and what doesn’t. The things you choose to keep, and what to let go. I realised how much I tied my own definition of success to my job title - I was scared that without that validation, I would somehow disappear. It has been so incredibly liberating to discover that the hard work I’ve done over the past 20 years acquiring expertise and building a network now enables me to take control of my career in a way I never thought possible.
I got fit
I’ve been fit before. Last time was in 2018, when I did the Great Scottish Run half-marathon. But then in 2019 I didn’t prioritise my fitness and slid back into bad habits. Thank goodness then for Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach). We started doing his lockdown PE sessions as a family, but everyone else soon got tired of it and gave up. I stuck with it though all the way through, and also discovered Lilly Sabri whose 10 minute weight sessions slot perfectly into a working day. I even did a few of them during the Christmas holidays!
I learned the power of serendipity
One thing that a lot of people say they miss about being in the office is those ideas that come from chance remarks, chit-chat in the kitchen, during meetings, overhearing colleagues on the phone. I worried about all those things too, but in reality the past 6 months has been full of meeting new people, developing new work relationships and getting exciting new projects off the ground. Most of it done virtually of course, but that has meant I’m as likely to speak to someone in Sydney as in London. And because there’s no-one except me to decide what is or isn’t part of my remit anymore, I’ve thrown myself into things that I otherwise would never have done. I’ve gone from trying to understand the implications of Brexit on the EU ETS, to discussing the musical arrangement for Auld Lang Syne, to drafting net zero carbon strategies, to having inspiring discussions about the power of street art. But the most important thing I learned, was to be open to these experiences. What’s for ye won’t go by ye, my Gran used to say. Which I think is true up to a point, but it most absolutely will go by you if you don’t put yourself out there.
Introspection over! I am going into 2021 on an optimistic note. I’m looking forward to building on existing relationships and forging new ones. To doing my bit to shift towards a net zero economy and support those pushing for a just, community-based circular economy model. And remembering, in amongst all the strife, to be grateful for the good bits.
www.afterthepandemic.scot/cop-26/