I wrote a blog post with this title before as it perfectly described my existence at the time, and it sprung to mind again which means I guess I can reuse it (with the suffix, of course!). It’s been three weeks since my last blog post which was wholly unintended but needed in many ways while my life was thrown a bit into chaos.
In some ways that chaos was good, in other ways it wasn’t and sometimes it was an uncomfortable combination of bad and good which seems the hardest to cope with. I had a week of annual leave off work which involved becoming a foster parent to a dog, nearly having one of my cats die and a complete lack of sleep. Post-Easter I have hit the ground running with a week of being on call and with work keeping me on my toes for sure.
I know I said that I was loathe to mention COVID-19 again on here, however I have had the realisation that avoiding it completely is unrealistic. We continue to see the impacts from the pandemic which should serve as a reminder that we are still experiencing one even though restrictions are being relaxed gradually each couple of weeks. I also ask that it not be forgotten that these times are the most anxious for us, where we cannot help but fear numbers rising again like they have previously when shops, pubs and restaurants begin to open again. My one hope is that the vaccination programme has gone a long way to help prevent a wave like we saw a year ago or like we had at the start of this year. I dread the next few months but I am trying to be positive that it will all begin to move in the right direction for good now
I received my second vaccination last week so I am fully double jabbed with the Pfizer dose which makes me very happy. I was even happier that I received a sticker this time, although that was dulled slightly by the fact some people are receiving badges elsewhere! I am, of course, joking and am chuffed with my vaccination either way. I am so impressed with how the hospital’s vaccination hub has worked faultlessly to complete their work.
In other news, we have now hosted our online Death Cafe for a year. I’m so proud of what we have achieved, bringing people together from all over the world and the discussions we have had. In many people’s lifetimes there has never been a more significant time to discuss these topics, with more and more exposure to large numbers of people dying over the last year. I have loved having those from other countries join too, alongside the people who I used to meet face to face with each month. Everyone is welcome to join us should they like to, and only need to get in contact with me to find out how.
I’ll leave you with my latest book read and recommendation. In the past few weeks I have finished a book titled 18 Tiny Deaths by Bruce Goldfarb which I enjoyed a lot. I received this book at Christmas from Laura B, I thought it had a very interesting cover but didn’t give it much thought until I picked it up and couldn’t put it down! If you are interested in the American Coroner/ME system, forensics or just really awesome women being awesome then do read it. Up next I am reading a book called Notebook by Tom Cox which is making my forager/countryside Walker side very happy.
Thank you for reading and for being patient with me. I make no promises to post regularly ever again because life just isn’t predictable like that anymore!
MG x
Mortuary Gem 
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