Mojo?

I have a number of things to catch up with. First, we’ve both now had our first jab. It was painless and efficient and we can’t thank the staff and volunteers enough. It is true to say that both of us felt a bit low afterwards (I didn’t sleep at all well last night and C is feeling distinctly groggy this morning), but we’re done. And thank goodness for that.

jab 1 – tick

And, leaving aside how ‘a little fluey’ I feel this morning, I think I’ve got my mojo back (a bit). It started on Friday when I was looking over my old Instagram posts where I have been posting for five years – every day, religiously. Leaving aside the past 12 months, which is a series of dull pictures of home (other than our autumn trip to Yorkshire), we did used to do a lot. I mean … a lot. We were always away. The Bahamas, SE Asia, east coast of the US, most of Europe, Scotland more times than I could count, a good deal of England. We visited friends – old and new – and our feet were hardly ever strapped to the ground. The Insta posts were associated with fun things and fun stays. And it was relentless. I was exhausted looking at them.

Nowadays? Not so much. And it had started to get to me. As though our current predicament is ingrained and all we could ever expect to do in the future is go for a walk/run, do a few jobs around the house and then watch telly. OK, so I have been working a lot – certainly last month – and I’m close to finishing edit two of The Belmonte Paradox. And, of course, in the first lockdown I did write of Black Bulls and White Horses. So we got a lot done … but we didn’t get away. It has all become monotonous, to the extent that breaking from that seems like it’s going to be a lot of effort. As though that was our previous life and this is our future. We went into lockdown full of the joys of spring, and emerged in the autumn of our lives.

Except … that’s not going to happen. Because, and that’s the beauty of social media, the memories of our previous life are just there. On our phones. In glorious technicolour. You can feel the joy. So, yes, I have my mojo back. And we will go away at the first opportunity. And we will go abroad – fly somewhere hot, or take Doris to Greece – when the window appears. Yes, that’s what we’re going to do. Hold me to it.

what do you mean I’m not allowed any of your hamburger?

What’s also interesting, for me at any rate, is that I have, probably unsurprisingly, put weight on. C and I did a bmi check the other day and I’m now over half way through the green zone – the wrong half. My fighting weight is 12st 7lb. When I was in my 20s and as fit as I ever was, I was below 12 stone. At 6 foot 4 inches, I think most polite people called me slim. Others used more descriptive terms. Well, for the first time in my life I’m over 13 stone and I have a little pot belly to prove it. I am exercising as much as I usually do, but home life and home cooking and, I guess, age and general inertia, have ganged up against me. Am I worried – he says reaching for another piece of cake? Not really. I’m not sure I want to put on much more weight though. I’ll do my best. Now, where’s the biscuit barrel?

I hope you are keeping yourself safe. For those of you without vaccines, they’re coming. We intend to stick to the same routine – double masking in shops etc – I think forever. Certainly until this time next year. But, with my mojo back, we’ll be doing that somewhere strange. And that can’t come soon enough.