So proud of our super courageous carer cousin | Cheryl Gibbs

There are so many stories out there of courageous people doing jobs that most of us wouldn’t want during this difficult time.
Jason Manford who has said he was turned down for a job at Tesco. PA PhotoJason Manford who has said he was turned down for a job at Tesco. PA Photo
Jason Manford who has said he was turned down for a job at Tesco. PA Photo

I read this week that comedian Jason Manford applied for a job as a Tesco delivery driver – only to be turned down!

I was also really proud of Matt’s cousin Jayden who has now been given a full-time job as a general assistant at a care home in Waterlooville.

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She started as a cleaner six weeks ago and has done so well they’ve now offered her the job as a carer. She’s right in the thick of it, helping patients who are often sick and have suffered from the virus. She’s only 17 and I think it’s super courageous of her. Well done Jayden, we’re all very proud!

Please pass me a large slice of humble pie

I love getting memory alerts each day reminding me of what we were doing a year ago, two years ago, five even.

This week I had a Google Memory pop up on my phone and it showed photos of when we started the work on our garden – and it was exactly three years ago.

How is that even possible?

Apart from the fact it scared the life out of me that three years have passed in the blink of an eye, it also hit home how long – and expensive – this garden makeover has become and it is STILL not finished.

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I vividly remember when we came to view the bungalow, we walked up the garden, which is elevated, and I saw the view over the fields.

I instantly knew this was for us and a look of dread came across Matt’s face as he turned to me and said: ‘This is way more work than you think, Cheryl’.

I dismissed it saying, ‘It’s not that bad, we can do it.’ Matt must have known at that point that there was no turning back for me.

I’ve always been a sucker for a view, so the fact we had some work to do in the garden was neither here nor there.

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Three years on though and I admit I’m eating humble pie. He was so right, and neither of us regret moving here – how could we, it’s lovely.

We’d never have been able to afford to live in an area like this, with such a spectacular view, unless we took on a property that needed a lot of work.

This week I finally admitted to Matt that I should have perhaps listened to him and gone in with my eyes wide open. Once it’s finished (whenever that may be) it really will be a statement garden and we’ll be so proud of all the work that we’ve done.

But it really is dragging on now and, given the current climate we’re living in, we just don’t feel we can justify spending the additional money that is needed to finish it.

We’ll get there though.

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I hope and hope that this time next year I’m not writing about the fact Google has reminded me it was four years ago since we started.

Sometimes being reminded of the past isn’t always a good thing.

Even if we can go back to normal, we’ll all be cautious

The country is wondering what is in store for us after Boris Johnson makes his big announcement on Sunday about how lockdown will be eased.

Most of the people I’ve spoken to are more concerned about the impact of things being too relaxed, than the prospect of getting back to normality.

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I cant wait to go back to the way things were, if that’s even possible.

But my biggest worry is relaxing lockdown too quickly and paying the ultimate price. I’ve become more anxious about our health since having Harley.

Even if we are being told we can relax a little, I think we’ll be taking it with a pinch of salt and will still be cautious.