This week I am feeling a bit off. I wouldn’t say I am down, but with wet weather and the continuation of lockdown – I am surely not alone. With the news reporting more new variants of the virus each worse than the last, along with more cases, more deaths. The deaths this week, include that of Captain Tom who raised astounding funds for the NHS via sponsorship for walking his garden to celebrate his 100th birthday. Needless to say – hope seems in short supply.

 However, I am not about to go down, down, down. Life might be ticking along at an alarming rate, with outings consisting of dog walks, jogs, and a weekly shop, but there are plenty of fulfilling activities, positives, and things to be grateful for. So, this week I end each day by recording a few, reminding me that this is not wasted time, I should not wish time away for better times, and with it my mood is lifting as the week goes on.

At work, quiet Fridays are launched and for this I will be ever grateful. Quiet Fridays means an end to non-urgent internal emails, freeing up more time to focus on my work priorities. Well, the theory makes a lot of sense, the reality is emails are less today, but Teams interaction within my team are still going strong. Teams has become our replacement for office social interaction, and the banter is definitely something I am grateful for. From home life comedy, home schooling catastrophes and GIFFs for everything in-between, I feel closer to my work colleagues through the insight into their home lives.

While in my own home life, I have plenty to be grateful for and enjoy. This week it is easy to take pleasure in the small things. From my loving caring friends and family who reach out via text and phone calls to catch up. My dog, Lady who is always happy to see me and shower me with her attention. To my Fiancé who has done jobs in the house and completed tasks for me to make life easier. Scouting, that brings me the joy of seeing young people engage, learn, and grow in confidence through fun process rather than outcome focused activities.

In my life there are lots of things to celebrate. Last week saw me complete my January Accumulator challenge with 71.3 miles achieved over the month. Looking back, I still cannot believe that in under a year I have gone from not being able to jog a minute comfortably, to jogging over 4 miles at ease. Working from home gave me the opportunity, the time, the drive to develop my fitness in the fresh air. Even this blog is a testament to the opportunities of lockdown.