OPINION
The holiday season: Southern Hemisphere rhythms demand that we stagger through December negotiating an obstacle course of extreme shopping, Secret Santas, work deadlines and vacation planning, arriving at the festive finish line broken human beings. Ask anyone how they are this month and see the wild look in their eyes.
Our family is adding to the chaos by hosting a post-Covid-restrictions international gathering of the multitudes at ours. Why did I decide this was the time to renovate the disgraceful downstairs bathroom? Why is catching a ferry no longer public transport but a cruel lottery? Inflatable Santa has sprung a leak, the Hanukkah candles I ordered still haven’t arrived ... Just breathe.
‘Tis also the season for reflecting on a not-so-jolly year. Nearly three have passed since Aotearoa had its first case of Covid. What a crazy ride it has been. In November 2021 I wrote about a typical day: “Get up. Figure out what freaking day of the benighted Covid week it is … Walk up to the French cafe and line up - masked, scanned and sanitised - for a cappuccino ... A demain et demain et demain.” Traffic lights, MIQ, the alienation of social distance - it messes with memory. It’s all a blur.
Is it nearly a year since the anti-mandate protesters set up camp outside Parliament? People wore actual tin foil hats. Violent scenes shook the nation.