'Normal' life is on its way back so let's appreciate what and who we have around us / Tracey Smith

I have got to say that the announcement from Boris regarding covid restrictions potentially being lifted on the 19th of July, I was screaming for joy!!

Not just for myself but for the people with businesses who still have not been allowed to open or for people wanting to attend festivals and large events or to be with loved ones.

I am especially happy for those that can hopefully go ahead with their weddings and christenings and have special family celebrations.

However, do I want to go back to standing at a bar queuing for half an hour trying to get served?

Being entangled in a rugby scrum to fight my way to the toilets on a night out? I have quite enjoyed sitting in a venue and being served, but I appreciate the toll this has put on the staff in the hospitality industry. I have enjoyed feeling quite civilised. I am not sure I am ready to go back to watching a band in a packed pub only to be pushed and shoved about.

Do not get me wrong, I have missed watching my favourite bands and listening to live music and having a dance, but I’ve also quite enjoyed live music seated. I think I have appreciated the music and musicianship more.

I have certainly missed hugging my friends and family and 100% missed seeing my daughter in Germany whom I still have not seen for 18 months. But it makes me wonder if we will appreciate our lives more once we get some normality back.

How long will it take for us all to complain when we are stood in a two-mile queue in a sweltering airport, or to be stood up on a packed bus or train?

Will we be precious about our own personal space as we have been used to it for so long?

What will the next 12 months be like? I have no idea. I hope for stability and no more lockdowns, some normality in our lives, and for our country to start prospering again.

But what I wish for the most is that we all appreciate what we all had before Covid-19 hit this country. That we embrace and enjoy what we have, who we have around us, who we care for.

Having my first meal out when the restaurants and pubs reopened was the best thing ever and it was like I had never dined out before.

Having that first pulled pint in a pub was fantastic. Going to the cinema for almost 18 months. These few occasions felt like a first to me and I really did appreciate the little things we had lost even though we only lost them for a short time.

So, when the normality returns, lets appreciate what and who we have around us.