Wow, it’s been a while! I am aware that many of my blog posts start off like that, but I tend to fall in and out of love of blogging yearly, and when the moment catches me, I go with it! So here I am again!
Since my last post, a lot has happened. It feels like the world has been turned upside down in the past 2 years, literally a few times here in Beira with our cyclones, and figuratively with the world right now with COVID. It’s hard to know where to even begin! It has been a very turbulent few years since my last post, but the personal growth and journey it has taken me has been immense. There have been some very high moments and some rock bottom moments that have all taught me the fragility of life and how special every moment is.
I rewrote and deleted a blog post back in 2019 countless times about Cyclone Idai that hit us here in Beria in March 2019. I found it so hard to finish writing it; all I could manage at the time were reposts of news updates or quick snippets of personal updates on my Brit in Beira Facebook and Instagram pages. Even today, I can be talking about it and what we experienced, thinking I’m fine, and then out of nowhere, I choke up. It might be something that I write about soon, but for now, I will let the below pictures do the talking. It hit the city hard and the surrounding areas even harder. It probably will be a night that I will never forget; the feeling of absolute fear mixed with complete helplessness and heartbreak for those who lost so much.
But as with all disasters and traumatic events, the phoenix always rises out of the ashes, and that is precisely what Beira did. We have all come out of it stronger, humbled and 100 times better prepared! Which was a good thing considering this last cyclone season; we have had already had another two. One was downgraded to a tropical storm, and the other Cyclone Eloise, that thankfully was nowhere near as destructive as Idai, but she still kicked quite a punch!
Then we have had Covid challenges, border closes, separation from my family in the UK for almost two and half years now, currency crashes, school closures…..wow, it’s been a ride! Covid here, thankfully, has been very low. However, we have had our fair share of restrictions, with some still in place. Still, nothing like Europe and other parts of the world have experienced, which has been devastating. But to be perfectly honest, Covid is just another challenge that we deal with here in Africa, something to add to the list of things to watch out for and live with. Deaths rates are high here, yes, but not from Covid; Covid is somewhere in the middle of the list below Malaria, Aids, poverty, terror threats, corruption, the list goes on…… We literally have to adapt, make a plan and move on. That’s life here, which is terrifying and freeing all at the same time!
But as I sit here now, I have a full, happy heart and love my life. Every day, I am grateful for every moment and the endless opportunities for growth and learning from the good, bad, and ugly. I am surrounded by the most amazingly supportive network of friends, my beautiful little family, and an incredible husband who is my biggest cheerleader. With all this love surrounding me, what more could I ever ask for!
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have, so make the most of today.”
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