Life and times in the year of Corona

 As the year draws to a close, I thought I should put fingers to keyboard and let you know how the year has been.

2020 will forever be remembered for the Corona Virus and the mass devastation that this world-wide pandemic has caused.  Here in NZ, we managed to get through the pandemic relatively unscathed and have watched the rest of the world, (especially the USA) with concern.  Haydn and I celebrated out 25^th Wedding Anniversary during the lockdown. Actually, we had a perfect time working and living in insolation for months.  I bought a BIG screen TV and now, every night is movie night! The most significant change in our dynamic is that he is now the chatty Kathy and I am the quiet one. Haydn learned to cook this year and is now quite the chef!  I discovered that Haydn speaks so loudly on Teams that I had to move to another floor of the house and still close my door.  He sits with his hands over his eyes on every call and now even does that when he is in the office, people keep asking if he is okay 😊.  He had his first health scare and we had to go to A & E for him for the first time since arriving in New Zealand in 2006.  All is well thankfully and we can laugh about it now.

My youngest daughter moved out but ended up returning home a few months later – because we have custody of all the dogs 😉.  We have had some laughs and some tears but overall our we loved every minute, to the extent that we wished lockdown could go on forever.  Although I imagine, our version of lockdown was different from many other places in the world.  We could still walk the dogs and get out of the house and into nature quite easily, and the NZ population cooperated, and we were all safe. 

There are clear advantages to living on a remote island in the Pacific, with a government that took swift and decisive action to ensure that things didn't get out of hand (unlike the idiot Oompa Loompa with the tiny hands!).

While I can make light of our experiences, there was a serious side to this year.  Many people lost their jobs or were forced to close their businesses due to the loss of revenue.  We held our breath when many of our relatives got Covid-19 and are relieved that most managed to pull through.  We lost some special people who are fondly remembered and sorely missed.  Our hearts go out to everyone that has suffered a loss this year. I hope that with time and the love of friends and family around you, you will find your way back to happiness and a new albeit different way of life.

This year we also got our utility belts on and built a fence between our untidy neighbours and us.  Now my husband is putting in a laminated wooden floor to replace the carpet that the Puppycathorsedog ripped up with his running and skidding antics.  That dog is just too much!  He is the cutest, idiot dog I have ever had, destroying every "smart Labrador" theory that ever there was.  The fool is incapable of learning and overly capable of loving, and so we are stuck with the crazy fool of a dog.  He and my baby are an adorable but odd couple that entertains us for hours on end.  Cushla, our 12-year-old grand lady Poodle-Shih Tzu has gone senile and forgotten that she is old or that she doesn't like dogs and sometimes, even joins in the fun.

My ever-present companion does not claw at my sanity quite as much as it used to.  I have noticed that my pain levels are slowly creeping up, but that is probably because I am doing so much more than I was able to before the surgery. I manage without the very heavy opioids that had my head swimming for 2018/2019.  For the most part, my levels sit at around a 5/10, for most of the day, creeping up towards 3 pm and then dropping down a bit again overnight.  This is the best I can hope for, and I accept it for what it is. 

In my last post, I mentioned that I was starting a psychology degree while working full time.  I did three papers in both semester one and semester two, and despite Covid-19 and lockdown, this went pretty well! I will admit to high-stress levels towards the end of semester two, as I had numerous assignments and tests and a full workload all at the same time.  

I am blessed to have a husband, family, boss and colleagues who are all so supportive and understanding.  This encouragement and tolerance made it all possible.  

I ended up completing six papers, (90 points) and achieving an A average, which I am thrilled about.  I am sure about my path, and my only regret is that I have come to this path so late in the game.  I wish that I could be a full-time student and finish as fast as possible, but the real world does not work that way.  The question now is: do I take three papers or, do I make life a bit easier and only take 2.  The BIG negative is that if I only take two papers, then it will take another four years to complete, which is not appealing at all.  Decisions, decisions – at least I have some time to figure this all out because the health faculty does not have any papers available in summer school.

For the first time in six years, I do not have a conference the week before Christmas. I have to say that I find myself remarkably filled with Christmas spirit and a lightness of mood that is uncommon for me at this time of year. So I wish you all a very merry Christmas and let's hope that 2021 is filled with wondrous and joyful things.

T.

Suspend your Disbelief!

Well, here I am dear friends… finally, I will resume my writing!

I refer to my FB post (made today) “Reality has set in - I have an empty nest, and so I am starting over... not with children (hahaha) but with a complete career change. I make myself accountable to you all that I am starting and will (eventually) complete a BHSc Degree in Psychology, while I work- FULL TIME! Crazy or not here I go... 😲🤓#maturestudentjourney #crazyisarequirement.”

Yes, it is true.  At age 46, I will begin an undergraduate degree in Psychology at my own university (AUT).  This is daunting for 100 reasons, but here are the highlights:

• I haven’t studied anything this big since the 1990s!
• I am still working full time!
• All my colleagues will be able to see my grades – SH1T – no pressure!

As daunting as this is, I have a great WHY.  I am very bored with administrative work and need to find new challenges. My back surgery, while it has fixed everything structurally, has not really resolved my pain.  This means that I will not be able to continue working an office job indefinitely, and I am not ready for a sickness benefit or retirement. I am very interested in the topic and would really like to be able to help people. 

So please, wish me luck and help me remember so that I do not fail.

I will be the little engine that could.

The end.