These are trying times. With many people either in lockdown or under the conditions of the virus measures, this is a major drain on our mental health.
Even when life hasn’t changed that much, like Tom’s and mine, it is obvious that the mere fact we can’t do as we please causes discomfort and confusion.
Is true happiness possible in times like this? I think it is, but let’s be honest and realistic – it asks for more effort.
Effort? Isn’t being happy not just something you are or are not?
Tom and I celebrated our 45th anniversary in 2021. For a long time, we hardly celebrated our anniversaries, which isn’t very smart. Because if we don’t celebrate our successes and acknowledge them, we diminish them. That’s one of the secrets for a happy marriage: celebrate!
Being together for such a long time and still being curious about each other and loving and respecting each other can be marked as quite an accomplishment.
This year was special because we had to deal with a Fase 1 Flexibilizada lockdown and its restrictions. We used to eat out on our wedding anniversary day, but during the lockdown, the restaurants were partly closed. They were only allowed to open the terrace, not the inside, and we don’t want to be on the terrace with smokers all around us.
We did go out though – we went to the bakery for bread and en passant we took tea with cake in a corner.
Maybe Tom and I are crazy, I don’t know. We are pensioners nowadays, we should be sitting in a chair looking outside what the neighbors are up to, right? Instead of what we are doing now: working on our websites, I am designing a couple of things, Tom is finishing his thesis.
My guess is, as long as we are both having fun, we’re OK. The only thing we really need to be aware of is to not work for too long. Leisure time is important.
All the more now we are in lockdown on an almost regular basis and restricted in our movements, it’s important to consciously spend leisure time together.