The problem with being in a pandemic is that you never really know what's coming next. You might think you have an idea, but then a curveball can fly at you from an angle, and you didn't see it coming...
Today is the 15th. That day of the month when I remind myself I can do this, and I can do it smiling... and you can do it too. We don't really go in for fluffy kittens, horizons and rainbows - we want belly laughs, rude jokes and cheekiness the likes of which can never be spoken aloud - but which makes itself known in the side smiles of youngsters with glinting eyes.
I thought today would be about protection, insurance, and confidence, because I had my COVID booster jab appointment (I'll not bore you with the figures, but they are definitely in favour of getting it done). Before I'd even left the house though, I had a message from my 22 year old daughter, who has tested positive. Today became about uncertainty, worry and feeling like Sheffield is on a distant moon, many many years of travel away from Manchester.
It doesn't matter what age they are, they're always your children. First and foremost I want to know that she's okay, which she seems to be, and secondly, how much will this mess up her Christmas plans?
As long as she has no symptoms, my daughter will be allowed out to play on Christmas Eve, just in the nick of time. She won't be the only person hoping that they are okay for Christmas this year - there will be tens of thousands of people in her position. Each of those people will have a knock on effect for someone else's Christmas, and before you know it, millions of people will not have the holiday they expected. And that's without most of them even catching the virus.
This year will be hard for a lot of people...
But we will still be smiling. We have zoom, and phones, and Facebook calls, and we have another day to get together in person. We can do this, and we can do it with style - and glitter.... watch this space...
The 15th is the day when we look at all of the photos shared over the month, and I put together 9 of the biggest into a collage. A HUGE thank you to everyone who joins in, we all want more smiles - they're contagious and they give us strength, and we all need that. You can join in, and find all of the rest of the smiles over on Instagram at the hashtag #TBCSmiles... ANY smile can be tagged - blurry, perfect, momentary, staged, young or old, grin or chuckle...
Thank you to the following Instagrammers for sharing the fabulous photos above:
My family made our own smiles too, and we had a lot this month! We went out twice for Christmas, to Winter Wonderland and theatre at Waterside in Sale, and we had 2 more family birthdays. I'm very glad we made the most of it while we could - within sensible limits...
Aww beautiful festive smiles. I hope your daughter is ok. Sending lots of love and thinking of you all, always xxx
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