March 23 2021. A day of reflection in the UK to mark a year since our first lockdown. There have been some TV adverts for this which have already made me well up! I think today we have a one minute silence at midday.

Marking today already feels hard. It’s going to be impossible for most of us not to feel grief. Grief for those we have lost, for those we miss, for our lives on hold and for things not done.

For solo birthdays and Christmasses, for phone calls instead of dinners, for all the hours spent working at the kitchen table or trying to understand grammar. Feelings of guilt that we, perhaps, have survived in some way, be that physically or emotionally, relationships or home.

A feeling of grief for the year we feel we’ll never get back, for the people we have only met virtually, for the places we haven’t visited, the new friends we haven’t made.

And a grief for our work and businesses, too. Work lost, clients silent, businesses struggling or gone.

I know I will cry today, thinking over the pressure and stress of this year and I feel quite emotional writing this. But I wanted to tell you that if you cry today, that’s ok. If you weep and wail for a year that wasn’t in your control, that’s ok.

If you sob for a year that’s taken money or work or friends or family or mental health, that’s ok.

It’s also ok if you need to let out the anger and sadness of a year of ‘what now?’ that might still infuse your bones. Feelings of worry or feelings of excitement that ‘freedom’ is in sight. You might cry with relief that as a year is marked, you can see and feel hope again.

If you’re shedding a tear, for any reason today, please know that you're not alone.

The below link is to Marie Curie which is leading the National Day of Reflection.

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