One twelfth of the year is in the books and right now as I’m typing this I’m struggling to think what I’ve got to show for it. Life is funny like that, the days are busy, the weeks are full, the energy is taken up and then you think ‘what did I do again?’

Some of the accomplishments are pleasant and earthy. The school year doesn’t start until nearly the middle of the month, so you have this long holiday hangover which is both fun and yet slightly disconcerting as the pull of work begins to exert itself. Jigsaw puzzles completed, books read or listened to, walks taken, the occasional hill sledged all made the first half of the month a pleasant one.

Two other things worth noting dominated our family horizons during January. A bathroom renovation that was begun in November and then was delayed by Christmas, New Year, some water damage investigations and coronavirus moved towards completion (it is now finished although the rubbish is still in the garden). I always slightly struggle with earthy investments into things like bathrooms. I can think of a bunch of other things I’d rather pour my money into. But I am grateful for a room that doesn’t have holes in it, cabinets that aren’t broken, a toilet that flushes properly and a toilet-roll holder that stays on the wall, lights that work and a shower drain that isn’t disgusting to look at. In other words, after ten plus years or so, the room needed some work on it. It’s better now, and I won’t have to think about it (I hope) for at least another ten years. We have also ensured that another room in our house has been efficiently insulated and more efficiently heated, and when a water meter gets installed later this year, we’ll save some money with the new low-flush toilet. Yet am I reminded that what I have described is beyond the imaginations of billions. We are not unaware nor ungrateful of our profoundly privileged position.

The second thing worth noting was that both Emma and I had our third COVID-19 vaccine. The first two were from Pfizer and the third was from Moderna and I can honestly say, I don’t think we’ve been as ill in a couple of decades as we were during the 36 hours after getting that vaccine. I reckon I’ve had covid twice and this was by far and away the worst I’ve felt. So, that’s us done – not doing that again, thanks very much.

I’ve struggled to write very much on this blog and I miss it (I have far more ideas than I do time and often energy) but I’m hoping to redraw some lines in other areas of life that will allow me to write again. It, along with running, does me good and therefore needs to be guarded. A few of those reasons has been that much of my spare mental energy has gone into trying to finish a book editing project which frustratingly is still not quite done but very nearly is. I’ll write more about that when it’s off to the printers. Same goes for a book I’ve been translating from Swedish to English for the Salvation Army here.

On the running front January has been the lowest for many years. I’ve found this winter’s weather very frustrating for running. We’ve had snow, it has melted and then left us ice and that’s been repeated every ten days or so for the past couple of months. It’s not been one thing or the other and so you have to run with spikes and you’re constantly concentrating on not falling over which makes just enjoying a run, much harder to do. So I’ve been working out in a gym or at home instead, but the good thing is that I’ve begun to really WANT to go out for a run, and that desire is not a bad thing, so perhaps the break has been a good thing.

On the church front January has seen Sunday services restricted to 50 again due to the increase in covid cases but the Swedish government has announced it is lifting practically all restrictions from the 9th February so hopefully we’ll finally be able to have a run of normality allowing us to focus our limited attention on resources on other things. We’re also about to enter the 3rd stage of developing eldership and deacon teams in the church (something which is long overdue), having established a core group of members and received nominations and suggestions from them. The next stage is to talk to each of those people and sift through to see what will emerge. It’s a bit like playing Wordle where you have all the right letters but no necessarily all in the right places but a little time spent rearranging them will give us something that make sense.

There are several things that I hope to write in more depth: learning about tribes, multi-cultural team-building, our sermon series on the minor prophets and so much more – we’ll see if I make that time during February.

Book of the month: Love Thy Body
Film of the month: Parasite