I’m terrified of another Christmas lockdown | Cheryl Gibbs

And while I’m trying to be level-headed about it, the new strain of Covid-19 and its repercussions is scarily similar to the situation we were all in last year.

Then we were promised that ‘Christmas will be Christmas’ and after the year we’d all had we deserved a few days of celebrations.

And then boom! A couple of days before, Boris announced the news we were all dreading – we were in lockdown again.

This new omicron strain is taking hold of society again.

More and more people are going down with it and now masks are mandatory again in shops.

It all just feels scarily similar to what we’ve experienced before.

Its funny how time is a great healer though.

Our daughter Harley is so used to seeing mummy and daddy wearing masks that it never fazed her at all.

But in the past few months we wore them less and less. So when we put them back on again this week she looked very strangely at us – almost as if she has a faint recollection of it being okay, but giving us a side glance like she was not quite so sure.

I hate wearing them because they come with such negative connotations.

They remind me of a time when no-one was allowed near our baby; a baby we waited so long to share with family and friends.

But it also reminds me of a time that allowed us to bond and reshape as a family, but for so many, too many, it was a time that affected their lives beyond measure and forever.

I just pray, this time, that the suffering is as minimal as possible.

I know people who have had all the jabs and boosters and who have still come down with it.

So please stay safe and let’s hope not for snow at Christmas, but for a safe one surrounded by loved ones.

REMEMBER WHEN CHILDREN CALLED THEIR PARENTS ‘MUMMY’ AND ‘DADDY’

I waited two-and-a-half years to become a mum and then to hear my baby call me ‘mummy’. So, at nearly two years old, what does Harley call me? Chezzy.

Yep, I don’t get mummy, or at least not very often, I get Chezzy. I can only think it’s because she’s around my nieces a lot and they call me Chezzy.

But as much as I correct her, I still get ‘Chheezzzyyy!’ yelled at the top of her voice. I hope she’ll grow out of it, but, I’m not going to lie, it kind of hurts, especially when I’m in a lovely sleep in the morning and instead of hearing her wake-up call using my name, which would be something at least, I get ‘Chezzy’ ringing through the bungalow. Oh well, I’ll just have to roll with it for now.

THE MAGIC OF WATCHING CHILDREN’S FACES LIGHT UP WHEN IT SNOWS

I loved the little fluttering of snow we had this week, and it was just a fluttering.

Clanfield notoriously gets more snow than places like Waterlooville, probably because of its proximity to Butser Hill and sort of being in a valley.

Even though it was only a dusting I loved watching Harley light up when she saw it come down – although she’s not a big lover of the cold weather – she hugs herself tight when we go outside and says ‘ooohh’ when the wind hits her.

It’s such a magical sight though, when you see your surroundings covered in a little bit of snow. I just love it and seeing the happiness it gives her makes the bitterness of the cold bearable… just about.

A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.

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