It’s a funny time we’re living in. I’m not even excited for the new year to be honest. This time last year, after having lived through 2020, I was super excited to see the back of that year. 2021 had so much promise and potential to be the year things would return to normal. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. It actually ended up being worse, especially here in Australia, where we were to have our longest lockdown to date.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a terrible year by any means. For me personally, I had some incredible highs regarding my employment endeavours. The biggest low, however, was not being able to travel internationally for a second year in a row. Meaning it’s been 2.5 years since I have seen my family and friends in person.

I had hoped to celebrate the end of 2021. More so as it was my first time taking a break since our lockdown had started eight months ago. Granted, we had a lovely Christmas and were able to travel locally within our state. Unfortunately our holiday plans were cut short and we’re now in isolation at home. Covid numbers have continued to soar here in Australia, as we have also seen worldwide. The omicron variant is just so darn contagious.

I became a close contact and therefore had to isolate. It was on the cards. People here have been trying their hardest not to get caught by the virus, so that plans over Christmas would not be ruined. Anyway, my time ran out. Even having to get a PCR test here has been a shambles. Many testing centres are closed over Christmas. Rapid tests are near impossible to get a hold of and if you do manage to grab one, be aware, it will cost a small fortune as prices have been jacked up by the retailers.

On the plus side, it is nice to be at home for a few days. Sorting things out, cleaning, organising and relaxing. At least I will feel well rested and refreshed for the new year and heading back to work. I’m grateful to be negative from covid, presumably thanks to my booster shot that I received a couple of weeks ago 🙏🏼.

I hope you all have a really wonderful 2022 and that things will improve for us all on a world scale. I am really excited for the blogging challenge set out by WordPress this month, Bloganuary. Has anyone heard of this? It will provide prompts daily for us to inspire and encourage us with blogging into the new year. Is anyone else participating in this challenge? How is everyone else feeling regarding the new year ahead? Excited? Anxious? Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading guys & gals, take care and stay safe.

Wayne ☺️