Dear LPG,

Well we have all spent most of the last two months at home and, at the beginning of the experience we were all advised to keep busy, keep in touch and do all those things that we have promised to do and never find the time to get around to. 

I have not been ill at all and so tried to follow that advice, but I know that I am not unique because I have read stories of others on your web pages who are finding themselves with good intentions and not getting very far when it comes to achieving these goals.  At the beginning of our national house arrest I made a list of the letters I was going to write, the projects that I promised myself I was going to start, and so many things that just needed a little bit of sorting out or adjustment.  The thing is that because we have been home for so long, all those little things that need doing have become more obvious.   They were always there but perhaps we have had more time to notice them although, in my case and in spite of all that, most of them still need doing.  

It appears that we are now getting to the other end of lock down, if not that, I hope that we are a at least half way through this, and I have to admit to becoming very lazy, although there have been some successes.  I have to put some of my failures down to not having the equipment to do the jobs, and others to needing added manpower to achieve my goal, but I have to be honest and say that, considering all the time I have had, I have not done very much. 

Am I alone in thinking that everything I have tried to do seems to take so much longer than I anticipated even though I had such plans at the beginning. 

Yesterday, two months later, I came across the list that I mentioned earlier and when I got to crossing off what I had achieved I realised that I had done more than I thought, even though there was room for improvement.

So if you can relate to my predicament, we younger, abler pensioners should not be depressing ourselves while we continue to take notice of all the things that we have not been able to cross off the list. 

I know that it has been said before but I want to enforce this notion.   I suggest that it is never too late to make a ‘things to do’ list, and if you did make one at any time take a look, cross off what you have done, and don’t be afraid to add any new relevant items.  This is a crossing out exercise which is very satisfying.

CT, Honor Oak.