this year has seen the cost og building materials skyrocket and tradies have have become rare and sought after specimen. Photo / NZME
this year has seen the cost og building materials skyrocket and tradies have have become rare and sought after specimen. Photo / NZME
This time last year we were all looking forward to 2021.
Most of us thought the worst of Covid was behind us, and we had dodged a bullet by going "hard and fast" into a level 4 lockdown.
The year 2020 was full of uncertainty, and with that uncertaintycame stress. I know I couldn't wait to see the back of 2020 and was looking forward to the new year.
Well, that didn't work, did it? This year has been even crazier than last, if that's possible.
Friends and family are divided over the vaccine mandate, lots of people are confused about the traffic light system, there are still limits in some supermarkets on flour and toilet paper, container ships full of goodies for Christmas are still sailing, the price of building materials has skyrocketed, tradies have become rare and sought after specimens. As for masks, they are an everyday part of our lives.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were back on our screens every day with daily case numbers, and although the stand-ups are now limited to announcements such as alert level changes, case numbers are still a daily occurrence.
Hawke's Bay has been incredibly lucky, with just two positive cases (one being counted in the Auckland tally, as that's where they were tested) since the latest outbreak which began at 23.59 on August 17.
So now, at the beginning of the last month of 2021, once again we are heading for the dawn of another year.
Linda Hall is assistant edito at Hawke's Bay Today.
The big question is how will this global pandemic treat us in 2022? Nobody knows for sure. However, according to the modellers ( that word has been used quite a lot this year -according to collinsdictionary.com, a modeller is someone who makes theoretical descriptions of systems or processes in order to understand them and be able to predict how they will develop) and the scientists, it's not looking good.
If you are vaccinated, scanning and wearing a mask, you are doing everything to keep yourself and your friends and family safe. That's all we can do. The rest is out of our hands.
It's a good time to count our blessings and be thankful for what we have and try not to worry about what we don't have or what we can't do.
One of the nicest things said to me this year was from Master Tom, a six-year-old who I hadn't seen for quite a while.
When he saw me, he said "I want to hug you but I've got sticky hands."
Of course I replied, "I don't care about your sticky hands, let's have a hug."
Who could possibly resist that? It made me smile for the rest of the day, and every time I've thought about it since.
Those are the special moments in life that we need to treasure.
I hope 2022 is better for us all. So many of us are missing people overseas. Things will get better, so hang in there. Put your Christmas tree up and prepare to celebrate the festive season.
As Rachel Hunter once said, "it won't happen overnight - but it will happen".
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.
