January (lockdown) birthdays suck

I reckon there’s only one thing worse than a January birthday. A birthday in January when its lockdown. Following on from the ‘fun’ month that is December, January has a hard act to follow. There’s nothing sparkly or indulgent about January. It’s ‘dry’ – with everyone eating less, drinking less, doing less, trying to get through the long month without having to buy presents before payday. And the weather is normally grim to boot. So it’s not normally the best birthday month.

But that’s nothing compared to this year. Add all that normal January dryness and add an extra fun-removing national lockdown. You know, a little extra frisson of torrid times, possible illness, and a removal of all face-to-face contact with friends and family. Wow, a normal January birthday looks like a veritable walk in the park now.

So – we extend our heartfelt apologies to those of you celebrating being another year older this month. Our son turns 13 (gulp) this month. Edd and I celebrated our birthdays during the last full lockdown. But it feels worse this time – probably because it’s the ‘dry’ month of January. But onwards we forge. There will be presents. Cake if Edd can fix the oven. Many zoom calls. And a promise that things can only get better.

-Louise-

Ps - the calendar picture is of the (brilliant) Guy Martin calendar I buy each year for Edd. As you can see, we haven't got many plans this month.