LIFE over the last 18 months has been a little bit like me trying to find my way round Barry.
I think I know where I’m going then I come to a roundabout I wasn’t expecting.
I’ve driven round roundabouts a few times recently trying to find my bearings, but now having lived here nearly eight weeks my times of doing that are down to about twice a week.
The last 18 months have seen all our worlds change so dramatically, we know new words such as peak flow, pandemic, R rate, and we all now know the name of the chief scientist.
Against the backdrop of all this we have learnt to deal with face masks – as a glasses wearer that proved interesting and for some of you’ll completely understand when I say I forgot about face masks when applying lip gloss!
While they help us keep safe I do miss people’s expressions in everyday conversations.
What we have learnt is kindness and good deeds have not died but instead cherished and celebrated.
People doing small things for other people, those small things were huge to the people who received the kindness.
As a priest it was hard trying to work out how best to do things, after one difficult week, returning home after conducting my friend’s funeral there on my doorstep were warm Welsh cakes.
My neighbour across the road at the time knew I had a difficult day and so made sure when I returned home there was something lovely.
Small thing, but huge impact.
We aren’t out of the woods yet and so we keep on living our lives as best we can in unusual circumstances, but what I hope and pray for is we don’t forget what we learnt during this extraordinary time.
The people who kept us going were the shop workers, the postal workers, delivery drivers, those involved in social care, teachers and, of course, the NHS.
2020 was a bit of a write-off, but it reminded us exactly what was important, kindness, and the care of others.
