Terrifying death toll proves why we must stay at home | Cheryl Gibbs

Let’s just think about that number for a second.

More than 100,000 people; mums, dads, brothers, sisters, daughters and sons.

Gone just like that since the start of this nightmare. Is that not a crazy figure to get your head around?

I know conspiracy theorists and those who doubt the validity of this virus will argue more people die from the flu or from a heart attack but I’m not going to get into that right now, because that wouldn’t be paying my due respects to the 100,000 or so people have died because of the coronavirus.

But I really think whatever you’re doing today, tomorrow, during the next week or so, when things are tough – or when like me, you’ve had enough of staying in, enough of being bored entertaining your children because the weather’s rubbish and there’s nowhere to go – just think about that number. Think about how lucky you are to still be here, breathing, healthy and alive, because more than 100,000 who were here, pretty much this time last year, aren’t anymore.

It’s a scary figure to comprehend and it’s this figure that we must keep in our minds when we want to just nip out somewhere; go to the shops for the second time that day; meet our friends for a walk and perhaps stray a little closer than we should.

It’s tough. I’m finding it very hard; the reality of being indoors all day, trying to entertain a baby who is just as frustrated as we are because she wants to explore – explore a world she simply can’t. I want to tear my hair out.

My husband Matt – who has arthritis and is classed as vulnerable because of the medication he’s on – has to shield at home as much as possible until he’s had the vaccine. He’s frustrated, but guess what? It’s better than the death of thousands more people who have already died, with that number increasing before it will get better. I know you’ve heard it all before, I know you feel like you’ve been preached at, but stay at home.

The sooner we keep safe, the sooner life will resemble some sort of normal again.

I am so proud of myself for running 107km this month

I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions.

Honestly, It seemed a bit silly to but I did want to achieve 100km of running in January.

I have already written about the fact I was kind of defeated in this quest, before I had given it a real shot.

But guess what? I’ve only gone and done it. I know it’s not a big deal and I’m not a massively competitive person. In my head I thought it didn’t really matter whether I did it or not, but the more I ran, the more I wanted to achieve that number. I ended the month having run 107km which equates to around 66 miles and I’m very happy with that number.

However I won’t be looking to surpass that in February; I’m going to take my win and be happy with it.

I can’t believe my baby, Harley, is one next month

One of the good things about Facebook is the memory posts that come up each day reminding you of what you did on that day years ago.

This week I’ve been flooded with memory posts about my baby shower which happened around this time last year.

I’m just blown away that an entire year has gone by and our baby girl is nearly one.

On February 6, Harley Winter Lorraine Kingston turns one and I literally can’t comprehend where that time has gone.

I can’t believe what she’s achieved already.

She was born into a lockdown world and she’ll celebrate her birthday in lockdown, but my girl will never be alone for she is loved so much, by so many.