Hope for 2022

The last two years have offered us an unprecedented challenge. A situation that we are by no means finished with and regardless of how much we protest or say that the restrictions and lockdowns are stupid, they are necessary. We need to keep the virus at bay for long enough to control the situation and offer a release valve for the health services.

Understandable Frustration

Protests are our right but should we not be asking the question of ‘Who will this help’?

I understand the frustration that is circulating around the world. People want to move on. I want to be done with the current level of restricted planning in which we need to exist. I want to get back to planning years ahead and be able with some level of certainty, predict the future in order to go on holiday.

We are all frustrated but that does not change the situation that we currently find ourselves in. It is not the NHS’ fault. They are not the ones having secret parties behind the scenes, they are the ones working day by day to care for as many people as possible. Their jobs are tough and their lives are stressful yet they turn up each and every single day in order to make a difference.

Protests are our right but should we not be asking the question of ‘Who will this help’? The government will sit behind closed doors as the police quash any outbursts, listening only if necessary, with the ultimate result being that it would finish as quickly as it begins it will end. The ultimate fallout is that many of those in attendance would contract COVID and add additional pressure to an already overstretched health service.

All of this is completely understandable. The government and in particular, Boris Johnson, has not lead by example, but in 2022, we need to move on.

A Key Hope For 2022

…hopes aren’t for today, they are forever.

My main hope for the New Year is that everyone can come together under the eyes of a new government and build a better tomorrow. Something that is very rosey eyed to say and I know that in practice this will most likely not happen any time soon, but hopes aren’t for today, they are forever.

To ensure that 2022 is a year to remember and not another to forget, we need to pull together as never before. We need to place those that are vulnerable around the world ahead of ourselves and ensure that the entire population of earth is vaccinated and not just within the wealthier countries.

My one hope above all the others is that the world recognises the strength it has as one. United we stand and divided we fall.

The power of a collective will typically defeat that of an individual, as ultimately if the population of a country rose up as one then they would overpower whichever leader is in power.

An Overdue Honeymoon

…have our eyes set on travelling for six months next year as our honeymoon…is this feasible?

If the world was on a level footing then my wife and I would have gone straight on honeymoon. Getting married at the end of August made this impossible as my wife is a teacher with limited holidays and so any type of quarantine would have made this impossible.

To counter this we went for a romantic ‘minimoon’ to the North of Wales for a week and ultimately have our eyes set on travelling for six months next year as our honeymoon…is this feasible?

I have no idea. We have booked nothing and are waiting for the Spring to see what the world looks like. After two years the ultimate thought is if not now, then when? We will both be 33, want to buy a house and have children, timeframes for which exist and we are not getting any younger.

If we don’t go in 2022, then will we have time in 2023? Yes, but I would rather not fast forward through my life and enjoy every year that I have. When we stop and have children I do not want it to be because my wife’s body clock was chiming its last bell.

A Final Thought

As we look back on 2021 and say goodbye to the year, I look back on the pain but also on the joy. Seeing the world move further ahead in the battle against COVID-19, alongside the personal joy of getting married to the woman of my dreams. There is always light with dark and as we move into the New Year and 2022, I hope that we will have more to hope for and less to fear.

It will take years for the world to reset and have confidence again, yet all we need to do is give it time. Time heals all wounds and this grey cloud will pass. We will move forward and as such, I have hope for the New Year and everything that it will bring.