Day Twelve. Stood Down. Thanks to Covid-19.

Staying Positive.

I know – it’s not the best of times, to say the least. We are effectively socially isolated, potentially unemployed and financial pressures are brewing like a powder keg. It’s tough and for most, it’s far tougher than it is for me. Still, tonight, I stopped.
Kirrily and I sat on a bench in our backyard, the kids left to attend to the new puppy and half a sink of washing up – they scored one out of two. I looked at the silhouette of the trees and remembered sitting there on a picnic rug with Kirrily all of those years ago. They were saplings and so were we.
Now those trees tower above us and four young lives depend upon us. Sure, they depend upon us for school fees and the provision of food and shelter, but in these times, they need a little more. Our issues are not their burdens, that’s not to say that we don’t discuss the realities of the global dilemma – we do. However, their childhood and youth are a precious time and should be treated as such.
So, regardless of the “pressing issues”, we make sure that we take time for our kids and speak of the good times – past, present and future. We play ball games with highly suspect rules and work through homework questions together. If anything, their home-schooling offers an opportunity rather than a hurdle. Time together is to be treasured and this pandemic is providing that.
Of an evening after dinner, Kirrily and I take time out by those towering trees and remind ourselves of all that is good. We are still healthy, with a loving family and in a wonderful country. So many in the world are suffering so badly. We peer up at the stars, as the night is crystal clear, and the temperature is mild with only a slight breeze. It reminds me of my childhood when my father would sit with me, naming the stars one by one – a skill he had learned when studying astro-navigation. A skill that navigated airliners across the vast Pacific with little more than a sextant and a compass.
One by one, I consider everything that is good with our situation. It’s not delusional, nor is it naïve. However, by considering what’s going right, I am able to recharge and address what’s going wrong with a clear and positive outlook. It’s not about running away from the situation but attacking it with clarity. After all, that’s what we’re trained to do as pilots. And Kirrily is 100% on the same wavelength.
We will get through this and life will throw financial hurdles and challenges along the way. However, for most of us, we still have a great deal to be thankful for – things that might not have a dollar value. Grab those things, hold onto them and face the world and its challenges with all the confidence you can muster. That’s how we will all come out the other side.

Stay safe everyone and see you tomorrow.
Cheers,
Owen

PS. I receive feedback to these posts from all around the world, however, Kirrily provided some feedback to yesterday’s post about my study. Apparently, I underplayed the state of disorder. It wasn’t merely a case of reorganising and refiling. She asserts that what was growing on the back of the filing cabinets may well hold the cure to Covid-19 in a similar way to the way penicillin changed the world. She’s probably right- my apologies – my study looks great now. Thanks, Honey. 🙂

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