Photo journal: Christmas 2020

 Welcome to my 2021 Photo Journal: Christmas 2020

This Christmas was extremely stressful for many of us. I was actually self isolating and felt psychologically imprisoned because I had come into contact with someone who tested positive to COVID on 23rd December. I also did a swab test on that day but did not actually get any result at all over the holidays. This meant that a) I did not know whether I had the virus or not b) I felt, whether rightly or wrongly,  that everyone else was celebrating even in small family groups, whereas I did not see anyone. C) I was in a state of limbo with no idea of when I would get a result to my test and when I would be able to go out again. Self isolating is hard at the best of times but during Christmas it just made it all seem so much worse. Added to this, I was also worried about my friend with the virus, who, of course, I could not visit.

I chose this photo for the first one in my 2021 diary to remind myself of the way I was feeling as the new year arrived. The image, which is an artistically rendered view of my hallway, shows how my Christmas surroundings were festive but very soon became almost surreal, so much so that I could hardly imagine being able to go outside again. All this was in the back of my mind and I kept telling myself (in a very stern voice) that I did not have symptoms and was at home, comfortable with enough to eat and drink, and so I had nothing to complain about. I worked quite a lot and I did an online shop. I could also contact my friends via Zoom of course, which was the highlight of the season. After all, a Prosecco on New Year's Eve with a friend, even if it is shared virtually, is still a celebration. In fact I had not felt like doing anything much for New Year, but I actually found that I was looking forward to a new direction, crossing a threshold into something different. At midnight fireworks from neighbouring houses wee actually quite magical. 

Despite all this, however, it came as such a relief this morning when I went and did another COVID  test which was negative. (I still have not had a result from the original swab). I felt as though my life had been given back to me, and even though we are still in lockdown, just the physical interaction with other people at the clinic made me feel better.

Fotobabble

I'd never actually used this site until recently when I decided to make a start so here's a little activity I ccreated:

http://www.fotobabble.com/m/OUI4aXk2L3Babnc9