Challenging times

I guess I fell off the blogging wagon again recently.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy keeping this page going, but I guess there’s a combination of factors that have just diverted my attention elsewhere, and like with every aspect of life, you really can only fit so much into your day.

These have been dark, stressful and frantic times for many of us, me included.  Work has hit a pace that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, and now that working from home has become the new normal, it sometimes feels like there’s very little escape from the office.  As one colleague told me recently, “instead of working from home, they should just call it ‘living at work.’”  My trouble is that we seem to have hit a perfect storm this year.  The pandemic is a worry.  Work is a stress.  And having a seemingly endless building project going on at home is the proverbial final straw.  Aligned to that, my usual avenues of enjoyment and stress-relief have largely (if temporarily) been restricted – I’ve had to abandon the garden, because the scaffolding on the side and back of our house has made it so hard to get in there; live football has gone out the window, and I really miss my visits to Plainmoor; I’m less motivated to do exercise because the treadmill’s in temporary storage; and I’m not settled enough to concentrate on reading ,because things have been constantly buzzing around my head.  As for blogging?  Forget it.

I think adaptability is key right now, along with a philosophical approach to the fact that 2020 just hasn’t worked out as planned.  There were a lot of archaeological sites I wanted to visit this year.  We had a great holiday booked in Scandinavia.  I had planned to see more of my friends.  Hell, we even thought that July would see a new addition to our family.  Alas these things have not come to pass, and even dwelling on them is futile, but boy does it all just chip away at your ability to cope.

So here we are, and what I’ve learned from the last few months is how uncomfortable it feels to be overwhelmed.  I've unconsciously tripped into that hole a little bit, so now the fightback must begin – I’m going to learn how to be more resilient, how to say no, and how to make sure that we look after ourselves, whilst all the madness drifts past.  And I’m going to focus on the positives.  The scaffolding came down from our house this week, so I can begin to get going on the garden, including planning a new “tropical” corner (well, we are in the Westcountry!)  I’m going to try and have an hour dedicated to reading.  I’m going get back into doing some proper exercise.  And I’m also going to make sure that at home, we’re kind to ourselves and each other.  Because you know, in amongst this crap time, there’s still a lot to look forward to, and I’m sure that happier times are just around the corner.