Back to reality

January 5, 2016 by Ray Morgan

Back to reality

The Sunday after New Year. The day before most people go back to work after time off over Christmas. And boy, the weather sure captured the mood didn't it?

Leigh on Sea was battered by strong winds, bitter rain, and moody grey skies. I ventured out to have a healthy lunch (#januarycliche) at Oaktree Vegetarian Bistro, and fought against wind, my umbrella flipping inside out at every turn. I must have looked a complete state as I fell into the cafe, mascara running, beetroot cheeks and a Jedward fringe, gasping for a double shot (soya) coffee.

It summed up the day. The last day at home before going back to work after a holiday is always a sombre one; the decorations come down leaving you feeling flat and sparse, and you don't want the break to end.

I decided to make the most of the day by having a massive clear-out, moving all the furniture round in my bedroom (who needs the gym?) and then decided to go out with my partner for a final, last-hurrah dinner, despite the howling rain.

I drank a huge glass of red wine, and ate a whole pizza to myself, aware that I'm going to be 'taking it easy' on the old unhealthy foodstuffs now, like we're all supposed to do. I thought about how lucky I am to have actually had a 10-day break over Christmas - much more than many others.

I spent whole days in Old Leigh, eating cockles and drinking local ale, watching the sea and seeing tides go out and come back to me again. We let the wind whip our faces and threaten to take new hats off. We stood on a wild Bell Wharf, a choppy sea churning below, eating hot, vinegary chips out of a cone, bodies bustled by the wind. Sometimes you just need to surround yourself with the unpredictability and wildness of nature.

This Christmas was a quiet, contemplative one. I don't know about you, but there seems to have been a lot of loss, hardship, and just bloody bad news for the people I love in the past few weeks. But instead of writing off Christmas as commercial folly, I took great comfort in small, hygge-ish things; candles and fairy lights, time to think, time to rest and sleep in if my body needed to, and making the most of seeing family. It paid off: I shall return to work rested, not dreading the 'back to reality' blues, but instead grateful for the time off, and for our lovely town's restorative ways.

If you had a difficult Christmas, I'm raising a glass to you. We did it - we got through it. Here's to light and goodness in 2016.