A marathon not a sprint
2021 a year in review
By any standards, 2021 has been a hard year and our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have struggled and continue to struggle in the face of this relentless pandemic. While a lot has been written about the physical impact of Covid, the mental health effects of the virus remain largely unknown. However, if anyone wanted proof that these effects can be radical, Emily went from a person for whom couch to 5km seemed an impossible mission to running the London Marathon. Yes, she ran a marathon, let that sink in for a second (Mark ran it too but that’s less interesting).
It is rightly written that pride can be dangerous and often precedes a fall but the pride that we feel that Emily, in particular, achieved this and raised over £2,000 for a mental health charity is truly phenomenal. There are a lot of people to thank for their support for this endeavour but special thanks goes to Mark and Emily’s personal trainer, Richie, who has endured tears, denials and more than the occasional expletive to train them to achieve this.
It wasn’t just Mark and Emily who decided that exercise was key to their own wellbeing, Amy also became a regular member of the home gym. Joseph, though, as he always does, took his own approach to self-care.
The Dalai Lama once said that, “Whenever there is a challenge, there is also an opportunity.” As with last year, international travel was difficult so we decided to holiday in the UK with trips to Cornwall, Scotland and the Isle of Wight. We have written about the wonders of these holidays, the opportunity to reconnect with nature and each other and the simple joys that are so often missed in our hectic worlds previously and we hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our adventures. We also took to growing some of our own vegetables and though they say size doesn’t matter, neither of our children lack a competitive edge (family board games are a sight to behold!)
“You take on too much” is an accusation that has, on occasion, been levelled at our family. Bah, there is always room for more, especially when it is more love. After the success of adopting Luna last year, we adopted her half-brother, Cosmo. We should have learned with children that 1+1 can be greater than 2. I mean how much damage can two young cats cause?? Just ask the now dead forest of house plants.
We are blessed and we are grateful. Despite the usual gripes, we have remained well throughout the year and the children have flourished at school and in their activities. Swimming now resembles at least an attempt at flotation rather than sinking faster than the Boris Johnson’s approval ratings. We have new belts for taekwondo and Joseph’s performance as Herod in this year’s nativity sent chills down the spine.
To our families, friends, church and loved ones everywhere, we send our warmest festive greetings. As the sun sets on 2021, we hope that everyone has a healthy, happy and hope-filled 2022.