New life = hope

This is the tub full of bulbs I gave Kathryn for Christmas last year. Looks like it's all ready to start giving again.
I hope I'll be able to come and see these in full flower, to be able to sit with my daughter and to be able to give her a hug. It's been too long.
I know all the reasons, I'm sensible and law abiding, but I would love to give her a hug. To congratulate her on her new job; to wish her a happy birthday; to tell her I think she's wonderful: working as a hospital doctor on shifts throughout all of the past year without missing a day; to be bringing up two beautiful, loving, grounded children who have had to deal with emergency key worker care; to have juggled her own and her key worker husband's shifts - day, late, long day, weekend and night duties for both of them; to have come through it all smiling..... and now to be ready to do it all over again, starting on Wednesday, with no idea what will be put into place for her children.
I'd like to hug our other daughter too to tell her: how wonderfully she is coping as a teacher; to tell her how proud I am on hearing how well she has dealt with frightened parents and children; to encourage her on seeing her tear up the plans she's made and creating a new lot; to say how well she is dealing with the cancellation of her wedding last July; how well she is doing, managing for a year with only a cold water sink, a table top hob and a microwave oven after her kitchen was ripped out just before lockdown (the new one was fitted three weeks ago, the week before Christmas... or at least the basics were); to thank her for doing our shopping; to sympathise as she is dealing with the cancellation of their second wedding date, in July of this year, by the venue.
How I wish I could hug them but I haven't, in a year! We haven't been in each others houses, we've met for walks or sat apart in our gardens. Never all three households together, apart from once, in the summer when it was allowed, when we met in their garden and celebrated the un-wedding day. We didn't hug, we stayed 2 metres apart and we celebrated as best we could. We kept apart at Christmas..... now this. It's hard.
The vaccine is coming, the FM is being strong and I'm trying too, but today was a hard day. I did see them both, I know how lucky I am to be able to do that. We were wearing our masks, and in both cases we were out of doors.
Ali and I went for a physically distanced walk in the cold, dark evening in the deserted Park. We brought our own coffee and drank as we walked and we had a Ferrero Rocher to celebrate.... but I did so want to hug them both.