Roles, Priorities and Being Human - Part 2

It’s been one week since I wrote what is now Part 1 and since that time….

1.    The GCSE teen has been processing the fact that the “goals” of the last two sporting and academic years are, withdrawn (for now), in the case of sport, and replaced, in the case of exams. But he is committed to thrive and make the most of the sudden surplus of free time. He will survive and he will find other outlets for his energy; provided I can continue to source protein (milk, chicken and eggs!) He is lucky to have space and a garden and he knows it.

2.    My parents won’t be coming to my April wedding because it’s postponed to sunnier days when we can all give each other a hug and rejoice in our returned liberty and appreciation for things we may have been taking for granted before they were taken away. Which is a great result, as the government has cancelled all weddings for the next 3 weeks and my parents can't leave their house at the moment. Plus we already have a lot of dates to remember in April, as my Teen 2 tells me.

3.    My colleagues have created, collaborated and supported each other, formed effective new ways of working with each other, clients and members, and have remained committed and resourceful. All whilst juggling new priorities, demands, anxieties and absence from loved ones as well as those they don't live with who they have responsibilities for.

4.    I can only roam once a day. But it can be a long roam.

I’m lucky. I’m also increasingly humbled by all the support, kindness and comradery that I’ve seen at play over the last ten days.

I feel fortunate to be in a position to find connections and have conversations with people in my personal and professional networks. We are taking care of each other as best we can.

At a time when we may become increasingly focused on ourselves and our own networks, for what are of course valid reasons, let’s please keep an eye and ear tuned to those we don’t see or hear from any more. Who is absent? Who are we not hearing from, or about, from family, friends and colleagues?

And please can we keep an eye out for others in our neighbourhood on our one excursion a day? On my roam into the world today I saw a lot of joy but I also saw a lot of anger. I hope we can all be mindful of others who may need our help but aren’t asking for it, and people who are asking for our help in ways we’ve not been attuned to before. There’s some way for us to go in this period of isolation. Let's those of us who can, be aware, kind and supportive of others.