I'm with you Liz, 2019 was a bumpy year. Sure, I haven't had to deal with anything quite as confusing as Brexit, and while my son might have had his first underage beer, at least he's not hanging about with convicted sex offenders. It must have been odd not having Harry for Christmas, Meghan whisking him away, but we both know our children, indeed grand children, grow up too fast and get about their own lives, whether we like it or not.
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I haven't watched your Christmas message for many years. I remember as a child, my own nanna would gather us grandkids at her feet and we'd tune into the ABC, back in the day where the ABC was one of the just two television channels we had, a pause in the day's festivities that allowed us all to catch our breath.
But I fell in love with The Crown this year. And there was this scene where you, well Clare Foy, made the first televised message in 1957 (your first radio speech was some five years earlier, you were only 26, not quite a year since your father's death) and it got me to wondering just how much change you've seen in Christmases over the years. Traditions set, but perhaps forgotten, family members no longer at the dinner table, your own take on how commercialised it's all become, a chance to wonder whether the coming year will be less bumpy.
For both our sakes I hope it is. You spoke about small steps, taken in hope and faith. That's how I'm going to approach 2020.
It's not going to be about saying I'm going to lose weight. It's going to be about eating more healthily, exercising more, drinking less, being more mindful about all sorts of things. The weight will go.
You spoke about small steps, taken in hope and faith. That's how I'm going to approach 2020.
And rather than say I need to sort out my finances, it's going to be about asking myself if I really need to make that purchase. Be more proactive about all the easy ways to save money. No more bought lunches, or clothes (I have a whole new wardrobe waiting for me to fit back in it, see above), no more spending money because I couldn't be bothered to find a better solution.
No more making excuses about not being a better friend. We're all busy and tired with families and careers to get in the way. Make time, even if it's a mere text to say I'm thinking of you, for the ones that matter. Stop feeling so bad about the ones who don't.
Work harder too on living a more conscious life. I hate to use the word sustainable but think about food waste and driving one kilometre to the shops for milk. Think about using electricity, think about how maybe you can make a difference in this whole climate debate.
Because it's reached a point where you are starting to think too much about it. That you do want your children and their children to have a planet to live on. There's a generation of us who perhaps take that for granted.
And speaking of your children, you know the small steps you have to take here are backwards. Give them space and time, give them autonomy, the chance to make their own choices, the opportunity to deal with the consequences. Your job here is about done. But you know that already and as much as it hurts, you know it's the right thing to do, step backwards.
But you know, too, you have to start walking forward. Your annus horribilis is behind you now, behind us both. It's time to stop letting that define you. It's time to stop letting other people define you, their lives define yours. It's time to truly believe you deserve good things, and that good people come into your life for a reason, stop overthinking.
This year will be one of upheaval and change. You know a few things are in store and while they scare you senseless and will make you sadder than you have been in a long time, you know you have to do it.
Small steps, your majesty, you and me both.