"I am hopeful for a year that refills our cup as a family": Tabitha Skye McBurney

File photo.

When I think of 2021 I find it difficult to not feel overwhelming disappointment.

My year started much like many parents, feeling excited and anxious, but quietly hopeful my children's world would return to some kind of normal, whatever that looked like post-lockdown.

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My son started school, my daughter began her first year playing team sport and I had recently started a new job.

As we settled into a rhythm of school drop offs, work/life balancing and Saturday activity I felt like I could finally take a breath again.

When the second lockdown hit, it felt heavier than the first.

Navigating remote learning with an extra child while continuing to work brought a new level of exhaustion.

I was frustrated and sad for the burden my children had to bear, again.

Missing out on their classroom education and the activities they had been so excited to attend, along with the reality of being unable to see anyone, was hard for them to comprehend.

People waiting for Covid tests at Wade Park, December 2021. Copyright: Orange News Examiner

While we enter 2022 with the return of most of our freedoms, it would be naïve of me to believe we are out of the woods just yet.

With the rise in Covid cases I can't help but hold concerns for my children's health, as well as the ever impending possibility of another lockdown.

The idea of making any plans further than the weekend is quite frankly, terrifying, but I refuse to live in a state of anxiety and fear.

I am hopeful for a year that refills our cup as a family.

A year of adventures and appreciating the little pleasures in life.

A year of uninterrupted education, activities and friendships for my children.

A year of progression in my career and the opportunity to grow from the experiences of the past two years.

So to 2021, farewell.

I hope 2022 is kinder to all of us.

Tabitha