WHY RECONNECTING WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY IS SOMETIMES OVERWHELMING

 

I turned the key in my ignition and felt the butterflies in my stomach as I prepared to leave the field I had been on since lockdown started, at the start of November 2020. I had craved the company of other people but now the time had come for me to move on I was feeling an equal measure of excitement and anxiety.

I headed off towards Lincolnshire. I had felt so much kindness from people throughout lockdown via zoom calls and phone calls. I now felt that I wanted to give back to some of those people. So I had volunteered to help at bigskyhideaway.com which is being set up by the founders of sayyesmore.com 

I had booked onto a caravanclub.co.uk CL site at Boston Aerodrome in Lincolnshire. As  I pulled up I was nervous because I had got out of the routine of arriving at new sites and setting up. Thankfully the guy that met me was very friendly and pointed me in the direction of an area of grass alongside the little runway. When I had finished setting up I enjoyed watching the mini aeroplanes taking off and landing. Some better than others, a few were very shaky as they took off and it made me feel anxious that they would never get off the ground, but of course they all did.

I made my way to the Big Sky Hideaway on my trusted bicycle. I loved the big blue skies with fluffy clouds that always seem to be in Lincolnshire when I visit, there is nothing like them. 

Emma and Dave, who own the fifteen acre site, with Alpacas and chickens , gave me such a warm welcome. It was great to finally meet them in the flesh but also it was so strange to not be able to hug them and to have to keep a social distance. Emma had made some delicious alpaca shaped biscuits so we had a cuppa and some biscuits before having a tour of the site and Yes Bus, (check out their website for details on staying on the bus) . They have done so much already in the short time they have been there. There are several camping pods available to hire in their woodland, they are planting trees and an orchard. Along with growing their own veg. They were repairing massive potholes in the driveway themselves so I was tasked with sieving gravel so that the stones could be used to fill the holes and the soil can be used for the raised beds. Over two days I worked to demolish a large mound of rubble and found it strangely therapeutic to be doing something to help them in my small way. I will most definitely be back hopefully to stay and meet some other Yes Tribers.

One morning before work,  I also met up with my nephew in law, Alex who had been married to my niece Laura, who died at the start of the first lockdown, far too young in her early thirties, leaving behind an 18 month old son called Dougie. I had not been able to see him or go to her funeral because of lockdown and that has been hard to deal with. So it was good to spend a couple of hours with him having a walk and chat.

The next morning I woke feeling a bit stiff after using muscles for two days sieving gravel, that had not been used for years. But that did not matter because I was so excited as my brother and his wife, who lived down the road came to visit me for lunch at my motorhome with their Grandson ,Dougie. Once again it was not nice to not being able to hug them, especially as I am a big hugger, it is my natural instinct to want to hug my family and friends. and they are mourning the death of their daughter Laura. We had a lovely time just catching up and I had a little cry when they left because family is so important to me. It hit home just how much I had yearned to see them.

This was a sign of what life was going to be like for a while at least and it was something I would have to get used to, this restraint when I saw friends and family, stopping myself from just grabbing them and hugging them so much because I had been starved of human company for so long in lockdown.

Then it was time to finally head to see my daughter Samantha in Kent. It had been nearly nine months since I had seen her and she had just moved into her own flat that she'd bought in Tunbridge Wells.

I set up my motorhome on the campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk site in Crowborough, in East Sussex, then hopped on the bus into Tunbridge Wells. When my daughter opened the door and I saw her face we just grabbed one another and hugged for ages and we cried and laughed and chattered at full speed. I felt such a sense of Euphoria to finally be with her. I had physically ached to see her, especially when she could not come to be with me at the last minute over Christmas because of Covid rules. Being in a bubble meant that I could finally hug her.

I am so proud of her she has bought a wonderful new home, and of course I could not wait to soak in her bath! It has been the main thing that I have missed since I hit the road in my motorhome 20 months ago, just chilling in a nice hot bath. She had got me a bath bomb so I could really luxuriate.  I have to admit that I stayed in it for well over an hour, topping it up with hot water every now and then. It was bliss.

Since then I have met up with other friends at outside pub areas and I have found myself feeling very emotional. I have realised even more the importance of my friendships and how I am definitely a people person, I need to see my family and friends regularly. I can feel my mood lifting every day.

 

So for me reconnecting with family and friend since lockdown eased has been emotional and overwhelming at times. It is taking some getting used to but it is great to be OUT OUT! even at a distance and in small groups