Pohutakawa flowering: yes, it really is midsummer here…

Here in NZ, Christmas Eve always feels like the real marking point of the beginning of the end of the old year, because it’s not only the beginning of the Christmas-New Year break, but also the summer holidays.

Plus, because of that, everyone tries to cram everything possible, workwise, into those last few weeks before Christmas, as well as having all the “end-of-year” workplace get-togethers. In a word, it’s crazy, and we all collectively arrive at December 24 feeling utterly exhausted.

That’s in situation-normal times. Yet I think we can all agree that this year-of-covid has been far from usual. Certainly, over the past few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on how the year has simultaneously felt extraordinarily long, at the same time as rushing by.

Here in NZ we’ve been extraordinarily fortunate at the leadership response to Covid taken by the government, particularly in identifying pubic health and economic wellbeing as twinned, rather than mutually exclusive, goals. In simple, everyday terms, though, that means we’re looking at a holiday period where we can travel and gather with friends and family with a reasonable degree of confidence—while still being careful, needless to say. At a time of year that has come to be all about such gatherings here in NZ, that is no small thing.

At the beach: New Year in summer

I am very much aware that this is not the case in many parts of the world, and that many of you may not be able to be with family and friends this year, despite similar traditions being the norm. Some of you may also have lost family, friends, and colleagues to the pandemic, or to other causes but with the loss exacerbated by Covid related restrictions on travel and gatherings.

Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope you are and will continue to be as happy, safe, and well as it is possible to be. If you are travelling and celebrating, travel and celebrate safely, giving thought and effect to the safety and wellbeing of others. If you are not able to travel or be together with others in realtime, I hope you may still find ways to share and connect that are meaningful and fulfilling. And may we all find some joy, however small the moment.

“I’ll be back” here, in the usual way, before the holiday season and 2020 both draw to their close—but in the meantime, and again, let’s all take care, for ourselves and others.