I was going to give you an update on my work situation (I write these posts a few weeks, sometimes months, after the events, so rest assured that I am back at work and feeling better than I was), but I wanted to write about something else first.
2008 was a poor year, not just for me, but for quite a few people I know as well. Apart from my constant travails at work, the year started with my mother being rushed to hospital for an emergency operation (it wasn’t life threatening, but it was an emergency), and ended with TOH staying in hospital over the Christmas and New Year period (they want to discharge her the day after tomorrow, but I am not convinced that it will be the best thing for her). In the meantime, my mother had another spell of ill-health (still waiting for test results to confirm what the problem is), and I had my period off work and am now on prescription medication.
So what we planned as a relaxing Christmas break turned out to be anything but. We were going to travel the 50 or so miles to spend a couple of days with TOH’s family, then a couple of days with my family, then back to our place to chill and enjoy a few days in each other’s company (which sometimes seems like a rare luxury). TOH was allowed out of the hospital for a few hours during the day, but had to be back by 8pm, which meant that we had to travel up on Christmas Day to eat turkey with her family, before rushing home; then the next day we travelled up to see my parents, before rushing home again. To make things more complicated, some of my family couldn’t make Boxing Day, which meant another trip up the road a few days later (and yet again, we had to be back by 8pm). So what should have been a relaxing time turned into three or four 100 mile round trips (thank heavens that the price of petrol has come down a bit), and that is without thinking of the heartache and anxiety of TOH being in hospital every night (although we both realise that it is probably the best place for her).
New Year’s Eve was characterised by the fact that I drunk a single bottle of beer, felt sleepy, but decided to stay up to watch Charlie Brooker’s Screen Wipe. At 12pm, I heard some whooshes and bangs outside, looked at the clock and realised that the New Year had arrived. I don’t think I have ever felt so underwhelmed at the prospect.
But, I am also counting my blessings, as some other people I know have had far worse. One friend was rocked by the sudden and unexplained suicide of a family member, just a few weeks before they were due to get married; another had the triple whammy of an unresolved court case (a friend had passed away a few years ago, but someone was disputing the will), a very poorly parent, and the break-up of their marriage. Although I feel desperately sorry for these friends of mine, in some ways I am grateful that I know some people worse off than me, because it helps to keep things in perspective.
I have just read that last bit back and it sounds horrible. I don’t mean it to, and I trust, dear reader, that you will have the nous to know what I mean without holding it against me.
So I am not in the least bit sorry to see the back of 2008, and I don’t know many people who are. Just about everyone I know had a very quiet New Year’s night, and we all hope that next year will be better.
Thank you for reading and all your comments – Happy New Year to you all.
