Farewell 2020 and thank you
We made it to the end of a rather unusual year. We had fire, floods and plague. We had lock down and lifting of restrictions. We had limited travel. We survived, for the most part.
The last few weeks have seen a poor diarist. It was a bit hectic to get to the end of the working year and then wind down a bit over the following week or so. We haven’t sat still, we just haven’t had a lot to really share, however, some final end of year ponderings are upon you.
We rounded out the year with a trip from Brisbane to Bundaberg and back. We travelled limited highway. I find heading out through Samford and Mt Mee, up through Kilkivan and on to the highway a lovely start and you are moving rather than stuck in traffic. Coming home, it was Bundaberg, bypassing Childers to Biggenden, on to Ban Ban Springs, Goomeri then down through Esk and home. The country is really beautiful. It is, for the most part, ridiculously and superficially green at the moment after some heavy rains. Whether that water has been able to soak into the earth and ease some of the drought is another matter.
There was also a lot more cattle around. We saw old man emu and Mrs Emu languishing in a field of what would otherwise be quite tall grass. The contrast of colour is also pretty impressive – the intense purple of Jacaranda and Poinciana against the backdrop of green or browns, there are the beautiful native yellow daisies with open faces that always bring joy, then there is the purple of Patterson’s Curse and the white of something that looks like mother of millions. When you think the colours are exhausted, look some more. There are fields of sunflowers, the changing colour of the gum bark as it sheds some of the burnt damage of the last fires and changes through varying shades of pink, brown, red, grey.
There are also the lovely letter boxes – Ned Kelly Stand and Deliver, crafted animals and everything beyond and around. Pay attention, there’s lots to see.
Amongst this, we have been working on our latest project – our home and putting our touch to it. Reworking the garden is a work in progress for one of us, whilst the grass is supposed to become lawn but time will tell – he of the household’s garden project. It is covering the ground so there is little prospect of muddied feet traipsing around the place. The other part of this duo has been working on his project bike, a present to himself (a few months early) for his 50th birthday. There is a certain gleam that comes into his eye when he talks about this project and when he is sent out to be with her and get to know her – the German Mistress.
We have also enjoyed some lovely meals out. The end of the working year saw us dining at The Stranger’s Dining Room at Parliament House – lovely. Fine dining and fine service. We have partaken of a couple of shows and the motorcycle exhibition – well worth the visit, even for those of us not so into motorcycles but still interested. We have enjoyed some lovely company.
So, in summary, a quick reflection of the madness that was 2020:
- our first wedding anniversary was in November in our first home owned together;
- working from home was okay but having some people contact is good;
- the forced slow down was helpful to realigning priorities;
- the appreciation of what we have and like to enjoy has increased;
- coffee can be savoured;
- we can travel by wine, clothes and food along with memories;
- time moves quickly in a very slow year;
- things can change in the blink of an eye;
- you can still live a lot even when restricted;
- teddy bears can be good company and enable you to visit a bygone time – we have gorgeous teddies from the Abbey at Caboolture;
- having your own sewing/reading etc room is pretty cool and quite a privilege;
- freedom is not guaranteed but you can make the most of the restrictions;
- health is important;
- patience is valuable and calming the surrounding noise is important;
- bureaucracy never changes whether it is as an employee or a punter in society;
- spending time in the garden, sometimes swinging a mattock at a plant that you want to remove, is very therapeutic.
As we all known, it’s been a year. We have been very fortunate, others not so much. We take a moment to thank you for taking the time to read the ramblings that are posted and hope that occasionally a smile crosses your face from something that has been written or a photograph that has been shared. Hopefully in 2021, I will be a better correspondent and diarist but I make no promise. The promise I make is to continue to live life as fully as I can. To 2020 I say thank you for the lessons and the opportunities. There’s a saying I heard years ago and I try to live by: live well, laugh often, love much. Be true, be kind and for now, here’s cheers
