HER TAKE: It’s a new dawn

I can’t believe it’s February already.

The new year is passing so fast, and not just because we have a vaccine – but also because so many things are happening concurrently. News exposes you to so much all the time, so much so that you don’t even know what to pay attention to, or when.

Well, I’ll tell you for free – you can pay attention to this column, starting this week. See what I did there? Not that I’m the go-to for what’s happening in the headlines – I’m here for the good stuff, the behind the scenes, the ‘what actually makes life tick’.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I wasn’t brought up by wolves, so let me start at the beginning, again.

Hi. I’m Abi with an ‘i’. I love books, sun-drenched holidays, tea, and a well-mixed tipple. I do not enjoy long walks on the beach, but I will do them, because the older I get, the louder my knees creak. Sure, I enjoy a political conversation or two, but what I really want to know about, is people. Life, love (of course!) and relationships. All that juicy stuff about why we’re still celebrating Valentines’ Day, and how a woman is supposed to navigate these shark-infested singlehood waters. What we think about that magazine article on not having children and being happy. Where the best place to have a quiet G&T is. That’s Gin and Tonic by the way.  Or rather, what we’re going to be talking about over the G&T. Think of me as your wordy bestie with loud opinions, who you might sometimes want to slap – but you can’t because you know I might be right. Ha!

Now that we’re more acquainted, I can go back to my original train of thought – I can’t believe it’s February already. I was just watching fireworks the other day – um, night. I’ve barely looked at my New Year’s Resolutions since I wrote them down (yes, we’re kind of still doing those too), and we’re in month two. Nothing has changed.

But did we expect something to change? A new year is only an important thing to mark the passage of time. It isn’t like Corona was going to go away, just because 2021 had started. It isn’t like somehow, at the stroke of midnight, you suddenly become disciplined enough to follow a keto diet (I am only a little ashamed to admit that I tried this and lasted about a meal and a half). Either you have the discipline before midnight, or you don’t, and you have to start growing that particular muscle.

You can’t blame people for wanting to hope that 2021 would magic 2020 away. But now that we’re clearly past the trial period, I want to remind you, just as I’m reminding myself, to not sweat the small stuff. Not to regret what we didn’t get to do, because last year, we really couldn’t. I know that’s easier said than done, but if anything, 2020 taught us that what we plan will not always go the way we want it to – and that’s ok. Best laid plans, right? We have to forgive ourselves for not attaining the ideals we aspired for. And remember that just because you didn’t reach, doesn’t mean you cannot continue to aspire.

2021 is for recovering and renewing. It’s ok to start again. We can do it together as we say no to chapatis and chips except on cheat days and emergencies. And, because I wasn’t here to do it in January, plus, in Africa, we can say this till June – Happy New Year.