It’s one of those things that I used to take for granted – the joy of packing. As a travel writer I was always on the go, and packing became more of an instinct rather than a pleasurable process.

Then, came 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic took over our lives, affecting absolutely everyone on this planet.

Going out and socialising stopped.

Travel stopped.

Work stopped.

I stopped.

Everyone’s experience has been different. While for those who preferred solitude anyway, most of us struggled with a life on halt, many of us lost work, lost the human contact with family and friends and some have had to live through the heartache of the consequences of the virus.

Like many others, I’ve wrestled with the effects of a already declining mental health, and the feeling of helplessness as I watched my hard earned career disappearing overnight.

I think everyone agrees, it was not a good year, yet, on hindsight, there are things I am grateful about for 2020:

• That I was able to spend more time with my cats
  (Kitty passed away in December 2020, knowing this, I am even more grateful I was able to spend more time with her)
• That I had the support of a few people who really cared about me, who kept reminding me how much my existence matter
• I learned that I am, and can be, stronger than I thought I was
• I learned how easy it is to make my own bread!

2021 hasn’t been any easier. While the politicians and the rest of the world are still working out how to best manage a ‘new normal’ as Covid-19 continue to spread among the populations, on top of the wars, conflict, and climate disasters we’ve had over the past few months… at least, I feel, that my old life is crawling back, as I began to pack for an upcoming cycling trip to Scotland.

Work is returning, I am back writing, and I feel, at last, small glimpse of my own ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future.

It never felt so good, so enjoyable, to be packing again.