One more sleep
I feel like an excited little child and after talking to Genevieve this morning I am not alone. We both feel like that and so does seven-year-old Willow and Stephen. The four of us are travelling to Whangarei tomorrow afternoon for the Mind, Body & Spirit event to be held over the weekend. For me, that will be the first time I have been away since March last year, when we travelled further south for a funeral and contracted Covid. That took a long time to recover from, and on top of the illness I already had, it is only now that I feel I have the energy to travel away again.
So much has changed since Covid. The liberties we took for granted before this pandemic have not yet returned. While it was lockdowns during that period that restricted our travel, road closures have now become the norm. They are not the sole reason I am not travelling so much, but it is definitely off putting to know that a five-hour journey may now become six or seven, should we decide to go to Auckland, for example. But it is more than that, somehow, there seem to be invisible barriers keeping us in. I noticed at Easter there were far more holiday makers around than there had been for years. I could see that people were travelling again. But that has not transferred to me. Some of it could be the cost that is now involved in a journey away. Fuel prices, accommodation, and food have all risen sharply, with little increase to our pensions to cover for these extra costs. It is very difficult to put money aside these days. Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful to receive this fortnightly payment, I am just stating a fact. And I know I won’t be the only one finding it more difficult to stretch the budget. At least we don’t have a mortgage to contend with as so many, especially young couples, do.
The Mind Body event is the first for some time, I believe, so I am hoping that it will bring people, willing to spend their precious dollars. My books I am selling need to pay for themselves. I am still a long way from recouping the costs of producing them. I am hoping to give enough treatments to cover the other costs of our weekend away. But however it pans out, at least I will know for next time whether having a stall is a good idea or not and whether it is worth attending others around the country as a participant. Time will tell. But whichever way it goes, I am looking forward to our weekend away.