Life moves pretty fast

So, we come towards the end of this calendar year and, as is traditional in some ways, this feels like a good time to be thoughtful about the year that has passed and the year ahead. It is also traditional at this time of year to become partly genetically mince pie and I am well on my way to doing that!

It’s safe to say that 2023 will live long in my memory, if only because I have a plethora of social media and blogs posts to look at as reminders! Setting that aside though, I do have some amazing images in my mind from this year. I have some challenging and emotional ones too, but I’ll return to them in a bit.

Of course, in November, I went back to work after my sabbatical. It’s been ok. Good in fact. I received a warm welcome from the team. I managed to time my return to coincide with a snazzy team lunch on the same day so that worked well too. There’s been stuff for me to learn, new people to meet, a fine array of corporate news, yammer posts and training materials to catch up on, and all in all, plenty to be done and get the old gnashers stuck in to. In some ways it is like I never left and in others, there is enough change that I’m feeling an excitement for getting up to speed.

I have found it tiring. I think this is to be expected. Essentially, to use a football metaphor, I am in that space between returning from a long-term spell on the sidelines and being fully match fit. The staggered return over the initial few weeks has helped. I have gradually ramped up my days, with my first full week being week three. I must say Monday morning was a shock that week. The snooze button took a pounding but, one of the advantages to working from home on a day like that is, the commute is short and thus I was at my desk on time!

Having shared those aforementioned social media posts and written quite a lot about my sabbatical which has formed the first ten months of this year, since returning to work, my challenge has been to answer the genuinely interesting enquiries I have received about my time away. To summarise my favourites:

• The best place to visit with a really pebbly beach – I’d say Beer in Devon
• The place I found most surprising – Hull. Quirky and with an awesome aquarium!
• Most beautiful – Loch Ness, although Dolgoch Falls in Wales had a touch of magic to it.
• Best museums – outside of the obvious major ones, the Cider Museum in Hereford is fun. And it has cider in it! The Shoe Museum in Northampton receives an honourable mention in this category.
• Weirdest place or thing – the pink seas in Budleigh Salterton, Pentre Ifan Neolithic monument in Wales and the appropriately named Quirky Quarter in Liverpool.

The main questions though have been, did I have a good break? To which I think the answer is, “yes, I did”. And how am I?

In order to answer that question, I realised my general response has been the default “not too bad”. Thus, in the first team meeting that I joined, I proceeded to share one of my favourite pieces of stand-up comedy, (under the auspices of laughter being the best medicine), as part of our health and safety moment that we have in each meeting. It is Bill Bailey on the phrase “not too bad”, British happiness and the funny things you hear when people watching in the UK – as I have spent much time doing during my travels. I’ll share the link at the end, (as I want you to keep reading!), but it is brilliant when it comes to answering the “how are you” question in the context of considering all things. I recommend a watch. (I have a ticket to go see Bill Bailey next year and I am very excited already!)

This has to be set in the context of the challenging times I mentioned earlier. This last part of the year has been dominated by my dealing with the grief driven anxiety that came back with vengeance in the last month or so of my break. Today, thankfully, I am doing well and have settled down. I have had good support from my doctor and my counsellor, but most of all from my family and friends who have looked after me as I have had to do the work to reset myself. I thank them all so much for their love and kindness.

Hence, as I head into Christmas and a new year, I must consider where I find myself and the answer to that is simply; I do feel a bit more like me again. A different me. A version of me. A little older and, dare I say after my experiences this year, a little wiser, at least about the things that drive me and that underpin who I am and maybe even who I want to be. So, not too bad!

Consequently, it is time to take that next step into the new year and a new rhythm. To everyone, as we all move forward together, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy new year. “God bless us, everyone”.

The Bill Bailey sketch – enjoy: Bill Bailey – Not too bad