Hello December
This is it! We reached the last month of 2020. A year that we will remember forever, even our children will remember this year.
My nephew Luca was counting the days to the end of our second lockdown so he can come over and have a sleepover with his brother and my goddaughter’s sisters. The girls are also so excited that they are coming to aunt Beba’s house for a sleepover. This mega event was meant to happen in October but with so many county restrictions and then the last lockdown, we had to cancel, and the children were extremely disappointed, but what can we do?
They understand that there is a virus that turned our lives upside down. When I asked Luca if I could visit him, he said “Beba, what about the virus and lockdown?” and I said “You are absolutely right my baby. We will wait until the lockdown is over and then we will have our sleepover.”
An eight-year old child was concerned with the spreading of the virus and was wiser than his aunt that misses him so much. Lesson learnt.
I am so looking forward to closing the clinic for the Christmas break, you cannot even imagine. Unfortunately, my plan of stopping teaching my Pilates classes was not successful and I gave in to the persuasion of my clients and started new online courses that will lead us until the 23rd of December. However, I will close the clinic on the 17th December for a well-deserved break and we will reopen Tuesday, 5th January. Please do not contact me until the 5th January – no calls, emails, text messages, Messenger, Instagram, nothing, as I will be OOF until then. (I am not joking!!)
We will also need to check whether we will be entering a third lockdown in January or not. As most businesses, we are struggling with this pandemic and my efforts are now to move some services online to reduce the heavy overheads we are currently facing.
I feel so sorry for all the businesses that had to shut their doors and for those who are still struggling to survive. My thoughts are with them and their families during this holiday season, you are not alone. <3
My hope is that we will achieve some sort of normality soon. I am clinging to this hope so I can move forward as it is quite easy to give in to desperation. Those who know me by now, know that I do not give up very easily, and I have no patience or even the time to feel sorry for myself. This pandemic was a big wakeup call and made me realise where I currently am, and where I want to be. So, my focus now will be on how to get there, and I will … I just do not know when yet! 😊
But one thing is for sure, I am surrounded by positive and supporting friends (some of them going through the exact same scenario) and by amazing and loyal clients that believe in what I have to offer and keep me motivated.
If we think about it, not everything was negative this year. Yes, the onsite side of the business is struggling with constant restrictions, lockdowns and even the fact that people need to cancel their appointments because they need to be tested for Coronavirus even if it is just a cold. But the Online side of the business is gradually growing, and I believe it will be here to stay. This year, I have seen so many more clients from all over Ireland, rather than just Dublin or Wexford. I think this is an amazing achievement that it only happened because of the pandemic. I even have a client and friend who has joined our online classes from London! Yes, she knows the neutral, otherwise as you know, she could not attend our Pilates programme! In fact, she is attending two classes per week, after annoying me and insisting so much in continuing with the classes during December. 😛
As you can see, not everything was bad this year, we do have the capacity to re-invent our business and flow with the challenges. So, stay positive and enjoy this festive season with your family and bring HOPE to your hearts as this too shall pass. And when it does, we will be stronger and in a better place. I look forward to seeing my clients back in the studio for my classes and a cuppa so we can have a proper catch up, face-to-face as we did during pre-Covid times.
Until then, wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!
Deborah xxx