EIGHT

By Annabelle Joe Hattie and Elliot 

I know that for some people Lockdown has been a wonderfully space-filled time of creative awakening,  home baking, reading and online yoga. With a full time job in the NHS and two children to home-school it didn’t really feel like that for me. This Advent it is a rare privilege to stop for a moment and reflect on the past year. As an occasional poet, I’ve always enjoyed a good thread-based metaphor: the intertwined threads of our complicated lives, the joining of people and places with cris-cross stitching, the rich tapestry of sadness and joy that makes our life’s story. Our star is made by our family - Joe, Annabelle, Elliot and Hattie - in the centre is a weaving of many threads: some brightly coloured and others long and grey. This is our 2020 - a weaving of precious moments and tiring times, a selection of threads that  we are currently still untangling,  winding round and round. We trust, with a pinch of Advent hope, that it will eventually become a beautiful star.