Was it just a dream?

Did it happen? Did I dream it? Was any of it real?

The period between January 2020 to December 2021 seems like a bit of blur right now. Covid, lockdown, furlough, redundancies, vaccinations, strange conspiracy theories all round.... It all almost seems like a whole life time ago. Almost seems like none of that ever really happened. In fact, can we just pretend it was all just a dream; a shared reality that isn't real? And one day, we will all wake up and see that all this just happens to be the longest sleep in the history of collective sleeping that there ever was. Of course, this is just wistful pondering and I know that it was not just a dream. And I still have my vaccine card to prove it.

Just before the first lockdown, I found myself getting so into Shpock. It was easily my most used app. Unloved dresses in the closest was converted into cash in my wallet. Things collected dust in the shed or the attic where finally going to go to a good home and get some good use and I'd be making a couple of pounds in the process; it was a win-win situation. I'd take pictures throughout the week, store all the clothes in the spare room, which I fondly called my 'office' and schedule to meet with my customers during the evening or weekend. Since social distancing became more of the norm, I noticed the reluctance of people wanting to buy any pre-owned items and I slowly stopped listing things.

Pre-2020, going out seemed like such a normal thing. A core part of human existence. You go out to work, go out to meet friends, go out for a walk, go out to date, go out just to get out. And then came the new way of living- work from home, zoom calls, online events, online workout sessions, video features on dating apps, etc.. We were transported through a portal into a strange virtual world where TikTok became the new cool thing. I am so happy to no longer have to do any kind of video calls; don't get me started on the interrupted 'frozen' calls, those were the worst!

Dating too was a lot easier pre-Covid. You'd meet a guy and not worry if he was a slient super spreader. You'd agree on a time and place to meet. It was far easier to set your boundaries and to stick to it. I'm yet to get back out in the world of dating again post Covid, not even sure where to start. And am I expected to wear a mask, do I hug the person I meet, are we allowed to ask about vaccinations, etc. etc...

Before all this starts to seem like all doom and gloom....there is one thing I managed to get from 2020; I passed my driving test (finally). It was my second test, three minors and finally, I am allowed to be an independent driver vroom vrooming around the city!

And now to modern day life. 2022, an era of post-messiness. Everyone becoming busy cleaning up the chaos the past 2 years has had on their lives. A time of healing and reflection and having worries about the upcoming recession. At this point, we can say we have been through a lot; we can handle whatever else is in store for us....