Welcome to the third part of my look back at 2020. If you missed part 1 or part 2 then do click on them to be taken straight to the posts.
September
Not going to lie, I loved September. It is also one of my favourite months of the year but this year, somehow it felt even more special. The days were long and lazy and apart from a couple of days in Wales (hastily arranged because our week in Morocco had been cancelled) we were loving being at home every weekend. It felt like we had found our groove and were enjoying it.
Jonnie turned 25 and though his birthday was obviously a muted affair there was still cake and balloons aplenty.
Our final bit of renovating took place with the delivery of new sofas and Cheeky wasted no time in claiming the new smaller sofa as his own. Bob gave a look of not caring less and bagsied the chaise longue part of the larger sofa and nobody has been allowed to sit on it since.
I also got a chance to go swimming with Lily! Lessons had started a few weeks before and whilst I had been permitted to watch from the sidelines Caity asked if I would like to go in with Lily one week and despite my first thought being “I can’t wear a swimming costume in public” I didnt hesitate to accept. Watching Lily gain confidence in the water has been gorgeous, she is such a water baby.
It also struck me in September just how much I loved living in the area we do. I was coming back from somewhere one morning and was blown away by a stunning view through a gap in a hedge. So much so I had to pull over and take a photo. Obviously at that point the very quiet country lane that hadn’t seen a car for a week when I turned into it became busier than the M1 and various beeps made me get out of the ditch and back in the car.
September is also the month of BlogOn, an annual highlight for many bloggers. Sadly this year it had to be held online but Laura had asked if we could be the designated drop off point for all the toys entered into the Toy Awards. Each we week we then delivered them to a lock up unit nearby, ready for Laura to collect. Great fun seeing how many parcels you can get in a Mini every Friday!
October
To be honest by this point I was losing the will to live with lockdowns / tiers / what was a non essential shop / why could people still fly etc. Boris kept us all waiting for three hours for a press conference on Halloween and we were all worried we were all in grave danger of having Strictly delayed. Even Boris knew that wouldnt have been a smart move.
We managed a first and final trip to beach for a dose of Vitamin sea, and although we couldn’t have the obligatory portion of chips, we did have a crab roll which was a pretty decent second place.
Lily got to do her first pumpkin picking too! Well actually it was a first for us all as none of us had done it before, and so none of us realised they all just scattered in a field and you just pick up the one you want, or failing that avoid the field and just grab one in the shop on the way out. One of those events that is definitely done “just for the ‘gram”, but Lily loved it.
November
Another lockdown began but at least this time some places were able to make plans ahead of time, for which we were grateful. Those of us for whom this is important got to sneak in a hair cut to tide us over the next four weeks of restrictions and I got a nail saver kit so when my beloved gel nails needed to come off I could do it properly and not just pick them off (gross, I know, I apologise).
I managed to sneak out for a socially distanced walk with my photographer friend, during which we plotted a thing we will be launching next year. All very exciting. Much more exciting than me getting home from our walk with my realising the memory card for my camera was still on my desk and so the photos I was sure were absolutely stunning didnt in fact exist. First world problems, right?
Ellie celebrated her birthday in November, the last of my children to have their birthday in lockdown this year. We are used to doorstep drop offs now and no sharing of cakes. I am so going to make up for this next year.
Oh and another reason to celebrate in November was Trump losing the US election. I am still not sure if he has admitted defeated because he is an actual child and doesn’t do losing. Honestly I hope he looks back at his behaviour and realises what a brat he is.
December
The month we were all looking forward to because there was the promise that the rules could be relaxed for a few days to allow families to come together and celebrate the Christmas period. We were told that to change that would be inhumane.
And then Coronavirus had other ideas, mutated within days of the vaccine being rolled out, and put paid to any plans that people had tentatively made. The new strain is 70% more contagious than the original variant, hospitals are creaking and its all now getting very depressing. Tier 4 has come into place, with concerns that many other places will be put in to stricter tiers on Boxing Day. Many high street shops we have known and love have now gone forever and it is all feeling very gloomy. We did get our Christmas tree and drive it home in my car with the roof down which is now a Christmas tradition.
We squeezed in an hour at the coast again but it was too cold and windy to even get out of the car, though this time we did get to eat fish and chips. In a pub that was empty except for us. It’s tragic. I feel for anyone working in the hospitality industry or retail, its desperate now and where we thought Christmas might be a boost to them it now looks like this won’t be the case.
It has left me feeling decidedly un-Christmassy, and truly hoping that 2021 is brighter for us all.
Featured image of 2020 courtesy of Shutterstock