When times are tough and things just aren’t going right, sometimes all it takes to make it better is something to look forward to.
It hasn’t been the greatest start to the year. My IBS symptoms have been terrible, some big expenses have come up, and I’ve been feeling really lonely since the holidays. But things are starting to turn around.
Let’s start with the best thing in my life – my amazing kids. They have just started their last year in their primary school and both of them have taken on more responsibility. My son is one of the two school captains and my daughter is one of three education captains. I got to see them receive their badges at school assembly this week and my son even had to speak over the microphone a few times. He was a natural, so confident and easy to understand. So proud of them both. The great thing is I can attend more events at the school this year due to my new job. That really gives me something to look forward to this year.
After my disappointment towards the end of last year for not getting into the new musical in town, the director of the show reached out this week to ask if I’d like to help out backstage. Originally she had asked me to do spotlighting again, but now I’ll be in amongst the action. And I get to attend some rehearsals soon to start learning the show and what I’ll need to do. That will really help with the loneliness, will be great to see a lot of the people that were in the cast of the last show I was in.
The toughest thing during the pandemic for me was the international lockdown. It was three years of not knowing when I would see my family and friends in Canada again. As soon as flights were going again, I went home about a year ago. Now I’m planning to go back in August this year. Nothing is booked yet, but unless something crazy happens, I get to go home for a visit. Having something to look forward to just makes the hard days easier.
Now I have a few things to look forward to this year already. Think the key might be to find more of those things. For those of you out there struggling to find those things, keep trying because it helps so much.