I am from Sydney and I was due to spend Christmas with my family in Adelaide. I didn’t join in the rush to leave Sydney while the SA borders were open because firstly, I didn’t want to chance it and potentially be a super spreader, secondly I didn’t want to pay the exorbitant amount that Qantas were charging (over $800 for a one way flight!).
This is the first time I’ve spent Christmas without my family, and I have decided to just remain at home by myself to ensure my movement is limited. I may go for a walk but that’s about it. I have video-called them already this morning to send them my love, and will video call them again tonight when they have their big dinner. I miss them terribly, and I am also missing my nephew’s first Christmas. Being alone isn’t the saddest part about today for me, not being with family is.
I know I am not the only one going through this, this year. I want to emphasise the importance of the people who miss out on family Christmas on a regular basis – healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, paramedics, even some McDonald’s workers!
And so, the year ends with yet another blanket of sadness, but this time over the entire world. I wanted to end this with an ode to the opposite, but I find myself having difficulty recollecting any significant event. Maybe then it is not a single event, but the combination of small things that make it happier. Things like people voluntarily wearing masks, or being civil to retail workers, or even respecting the dots on the ground which mark social distancing. The 66,000 people who voluntarily got tested when asked to.
Things which may not get much fanfare but really do show the empathy the majority of us have for one another. Yes, I think I’ll focus on this.
