A medical reason to not socialize

Usually, at the end of the year, I
land myself up in a blue funk, contemplating yet another twelve months of “lack
of weight loss”, bad A1C numbers, and the general plateauing that characterises
middle age, looking wistfully at those who have achieved so much and telling
myself  “God doesn’t exist” and “God doesn’t care for me”, all at the same
time. Not this year though, I am just glad I am going to be seeing January 1st.
Alive.

And if you are reading this, you
should be happy too. If you and those you love have made it through this year,
consider yourself extremely lucky.

Now, staying alive is something we
so take for granted, that it’s not something that gives us any comfort in any
other year, but in 2020, when life has become like batting against the new ball
on a green top in Melbourne, going in undefeated at stumps is a privilege.

This is not to trivialise businesses
shutting down and jobs lost, but they can be brought back again, and they will,
but, not life, and 2020, if it has any silver lining, has made us appreciate
the high privilege it is to be able to breathe. Literally and figuratively.

And then there are the small things
that 2020 has made me thankful for. First-day Hindi releases on streaming,
which meant at least I didn’t have to pay for theatre tickets and popcorn to
watch Ludo. A medical reason to not socialise. The ability to terminate Zoom
interactions with friends and family,  during those uncomfortable lulls in
conversation, by just saying “my tablet is out of charge”, something you can’t
do during normal face to face interactions. The time saved by not driving to
work, more time with my family, and perhaps most importantly, that extra time
in the morning spent sleeping.

Will 2021 be better? I don’t know,
if I knew when stuff hit bottom, I would be making a killing at the stock
market. I can only hope that the next year will be better, in which case there
will be lot of good things to look forward to, for there is nothing more
exhilarating than a rebound up.

And what if it gets worse? Well 2020
would have given you good practice.