Well it’s been a year that no one will forget in a hurry that’s for sure and one we will remember for many reasons both good and bad. The big question is will 2021 be any different? Things in the Northern Hemisphere are shaping up to be as bad or even worse than 2020 and they are pinning all their hopes on the vaccine. We in Australia are just lucky to have contained things a little better and be in a position to wait and see what happens up north before we also vaccinate the masses. I know a lot of hope is being pinned on the efficacy of the vaccine and it seems that international travel will not happen without proof of having had it so I guess that will sort the men from the boys! As someone who loves plans and lists and looking forward to things the whole virus situation has forced me to instead enjoy what is in front of me instead of the anticipation of what lies ahead and that is not a bad thing. We have all slowed down, appreciated our local environment and reconnected with our friends and families that are far away, bound by a mutual experience and a sense of gratefulness for having people to care for and to be cared by them in return. We are all in this together after all. Life has a habit of continuing on though, babies are still arriving, houses being bought and new jobs started. Our homes have become our castle once more as we spend more time working from home so DIY and home renovations have gone through the roof. Exercise has taken off – any excuse to get out of the house has meant cycling, surfing, running etc have become flavour of the month (and is the much needed antidote to all the eating and drinking we have all been doing in lockdown!) and camping has once again been the family vacation of choice – the great outdoors to the rescue!

Christmas came to our little town despite everything. Half the population determined to party bigger and better than ever before as if to say “up yours” to Covid and the other half couldn’t quite get into it in the face of all that was happening. This was our year where the kids go to their partners families so we always knew it was going to be a small one just with Tom but there were plans for the Sydney crew to arrive on the 27th for a week and we would have a couple of nights of overlap. Covid however had a different idea and with Sam and Liv living on the Northern Beaches they sadly fell into the only area of Sydney to be locked down over this period. They were very lucky to be allowed to enjoy Xmas Day with Livs family as they were in the orange zone and not the red but I had a few friends that weren’t so lucky and had to rely on technology to see each other. Much better than 37 years ago when I landed in Sydney and had to queue up at Martin Place post office to place a call to the UK and even then it was just a 3 minute call!! Now we can see each other opening gifts, share a virtual meal or have a group video call all at the press of a button.

The three of us had a lovely Christmas day, enjoying some yummy food and rather too much wine, ending the day with a huge bonfire, music and dancing and a rather sloshed call to my Mum in the UK who at 84 was having her very 1st Christmas alone and was understandably a bit sad. She got through it of course and made the best of it as many others did but I know how much stead she places on family and it would have been a tough day for her.

Before the big day we got to spend a week with Loz and Myla before they flew off to Tassie to start their new life and we were lucky with the weather meaning we could play in the garden in the little paddling pool or the sandpit, enjoy the sand dunes at the beach or picnic on the river according to how we felt! I must admit to a twinge of regret as we packed them up from Canberra to once again live over the water and a plane trip away although it is of course Australia and only a fraction of the time that it used to take us to get to Asia to see them. As a family spread far and wide we always try to think of the positives and to be honest a week in Tassie every few months is definitely a pleasurable thought and I know it will give them the outdoor life that they love and want for their family to grow up in.

At the end of November my beautiful bookclub girls all got together at the gorgeous home of one of the gals and we celebrated our friendship, Christmas and the good riddance of 2020 over a delicious meal. It was doubly sweet for us all to be together after a year of being all over the place with our usual monthly meetings and we were very thankful for the whole tribe to be together for a few hours. Long term friendships are a gift, there is no pressure to be someone you are not and they are the people that have been there for the good times and the bad to support you and make you laugh when everything is going to the dog house. We are indeed lucky.

These past few months has seen our garden mature and start to fill in and become what we had originally envisaged. As the never ending weeds were still winning we decided to just plant loads more flowers and groundcover so there is no space for the pesky interlopers. It is working for the most part but the grass runners are omnipotent and I am definitely losing the battle with them, the only good thing is they are harder to see amongst the plants now! As all our planned visitors have been locked down I am going to use the next week or two to exert my authority over the garden and get it back into some semblance of order. In the meantime the waft of perfume from the gardenias cut for the house is heaven…..

I’m writing this on my 36th wedding anniversary. You get less for murder some people say. It really seems weird when I look back at the photos of that day – I’m still that girl in there somewhere but with so many rich experiences added in. Life in a new country, 3 kids that I adore and now grandchildren to be silly with and love to bits. I’ve had some great jobs with super people and have a large and wonderful friendship group so I forgive the wrinkles and the grey hairs and think how lucky I am and that 36 years is a pretty good achievement! Of course in true 2020 style it’s a public holiday, the restaurants are shut and a huge storm has dampened any ideas of sharing a bottle of wine somewhere picturesque with the MOTH but we are happy to snuggle up at home with a nice dinner and an episode of The Crown. Real life and not half bad….

Lizzie sums it up beautifully here (please excuse her language but 2020 has her reeling….)

So here is to the whole world being a better place next year, to optimism balanced with practicality in how we deal with this virus, a new appreciation for what we had and didn’t even realise and to our bodies, temples occasionally but often used and abused and still expected to do the right thing. Health is the new wealth folks! Thanks for following our story from The Meadow, we definitely don’t feel like the new kids on the block anymore but are still feeling grateful that we found this gorgeous little corner of the world to call our own. Happy New Year to you all.